Number of Women in Japan's Lower House Falls After Snap Vote

• The number of women in Japan’s Lower House fell with the snap elections staged in February
• Women are still underrepresented in Japan’s male-dominated politics
• Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi consolidated her power after the elections

The number of women in the country’s House of Representatives has diminished due to the snap polls conducted on February 8, with results being announced on February 10. This proves the small role that women in Japan play.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi consolidated her position after the elections four months after ascending to office as Japan's first female prime minister. Nevertheless, her leadership is not based on gender politics.

But the current number of female representatives in the House of Representatives constitutes just 68 out of 465, making just 15 percent of the total.

This reduces significantly from the number of females elected in 2024, which were 73. These elections have recorded a landslide victory for Sanae’s conservative bloc.

Though the total number of female candidates, or 24 percent of the total candidates, is a record, it can also be noted that this increases over previous elections.

One of the notable outcomes was the election of Hikaru Fujita from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who contested the elections while pregnant and succeeded in winning the elections, garnering almost half of the votes in her district against a seasoned parliamentarian.

During her campaigning in the Nagano prefecture, she campaigned mainly on issues that concerned the youth and women, winning support from Sanae.

Japan has maintained its traditional gender roles with women often being expected to take the lead in the performance of domestic and family roles despite their working status.

However, as Sanae took office in October, she appointed a predominantly male-dominated cabinet in contrast to her earlier pledge to have more women in her cabinet.

According to Professor Yuki Tsuji of Japan’s Tokai University, however, Sanae’s inauguration has not increased the number of women candidates in the LDP. Of the 68 women elected, 39 are from the LDP, accounting for more than 12 percent of the 315 lawmakers.

In an interview with the HP Column, political science professor Yu Uchiyama of the University of Tokyo added: "Being a populist politician known for a strong conservative stance in gender issues and other areas, it is unlikely for an administration under her to place a strong emphasis on diversity, equality, and inclusion."

Japan stands at number 118 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report for 2025.