FOCUS: Japan Takes 1st Step to Increase Number of Female Lawmakers

May 19, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese political parties welcome the recent passage of legislation urging them to even out the number of male and female candidates in public offices elections.

Fumio Kishida, policy chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, described the passage on Wednesday as a "precious first step" toward increasing the number of women in politics.

The focus will be on whether parties follow up the initiative with concrete measures. Their efforts will be tested in the nationwide local elections and the election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, next year.

The new law states that political parties and groups should aim to make the number of male and female candidates as equal as possible. It calls for voluntarily efforts, such as setting up targets, without stipulating any penalties.

In 2010, the government set a target of raising the proportion of female candidates in elections for both parliamentary chambers to 30 pct by 2020.

But women accounted for only 17.7 pct of all candidates in last year's election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber. The proportion of female lawmakers in the Lower House stands at 10.1 pct.

In the Upper House elections in 2013 and 2016, women accounted for some 24 pct of candidates. The proportion of female lawmakers in the chamber comes in at 20.7 pct.

In Germany, women accounted for 36.5 pct of all lawmakers in the lower parliamentary chamber in 2015, after political parties in the late 1980s started introducing a quota system in which certain proportions of female candidates are fielded in national elections.

In France where moves toward gender equality gained momentum following the 1999 revision to the constitution, the proportion of women in both parliamentary chambers stands at 25 pct.

In Japan, the largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has proposed that the country introduce a quota system for female candidates in national elections.

The CDPJ had the largest proportion of female candidates in last year's Lower House election, at 24.4 pct.

CDPJ Secretary-General Tetsuro Fukuyama told a press conference on Wednesday that the party welcomes women who hope to change politics. "We actively want them to come to us," he said.

Speaking at a separate press conference, the LDP's Kishida said, "we must achieve concrete results" through the new law.

But political parties are likely to have difficulties introducing numerical targets and a quota system for female candidates due to possible objections from incumbent lawmakers, most of whom are men.

Noritoshi Ishida, policy head of the LDP's coalition ally, Komeito, pointed to difficulties setting a numerical target for female candidates in nationwide local elections, which are the focus of the party.

Nobuyuki Baba, secretary-general of Nippon Ishin no Kai, another opposition party, said that efforts need to be focused on creating an environment in which women feel more at ease running in elections.

"Setting up numerical targets and trying to meet them is like putting the cart before the horse," Baba said. Jiji Press