Japan’s record number of women MPs still a minority

New lawmaker Saria Hino joins record number of women in Japan's parliament, advocating for working parents and gender equality.

New lawmaker Saria Hino took her seat on Monday (November 11, 2024) as one of a record number of women in Japan’s parliament, but while campaigning ahead of the recent election, a voter asked her: “Who’s looking after your children?”

The mother-of-four was among 73 women elected to the 465-seat house of representatives in October’s vote — the most ever, but still a small minority at 16%. Having won in central Japan’s Aichi region, the 36-year-old is on a mission to “deliver a message from the front lines” of those raising children or caring for the elderly.

“The responsibility for children’s growth should not lie solely on their parent’s shoulders,” said Ms. Hino, who was elected to the Opposition Democratic Party for the People.

Women leaders are rare in politics but also in business in Japan, which ranked 118th of 146 in the 2024 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report.

Veteran female lawmakers, such as former Ministers Seiko Noda and Seiko Hashimoto, have highlighted the difficulties of being a mother and an MP in a parliament where debates often run on until nearly midnight.

Women made up just a quarter of the candidates in the election and can still openly face sexist jibes.

Former deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso this year called then-Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa a “rising star” but also described her as an “aunty” who was “not that beautiful”.