April 10, 2026

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Today, April 10 marks the 80th anniversary of Japanese women first exercising their right to vote. Eight months after the end of WWII, the first House of Representatives election took place under the new system that granted women the right to vote. It was before Japan’s postwar constitution was established. Of the 79 women who ran for office, 39 were elected. Women accounted for 8.4% of the elected representatives. Among them was Karasawa Toshiko, who became the Japanese Communist Party’s first female Dietmember.

Even before the war, the JCP had campaigned for “universal suffrage for all men and women aged 18 and over” and had fought for “equal rights for men and women.”

What is the current situation regarding women’s political participation? With only 14.6% of House of Representatives lawmakers and 30.0% of House of Councillors members being women, Japan lags far behind the rest of the world.

The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner “Nippon Ishin no Kai” party have agreed to submit a bill to the current Diet session to cut the number of Lower House seats by 45. The seats they are targeting for reduction are those in the proportional representation districts.

These constituencies accurately reflect voter preferences and have served as a driving force in increasing women’s participation in national politics.

To further increase the number of female lawmakers, implementing a gender quota system on a proportional representation basis is likely to be the most effective method. This system requires that each political party field a certain percentage of female candidates.

The JCP is strongly opposed to reducing proportional representation seats. Instead, it proposes abolishing all single-seat constituencies and switching fully to proportional representation. The party is working toward introducing a quota system with the aim of achieving gender parity in candidate lists. Currently, setting targets for fielding female candidates is merely a non-binding obligation for political parties. The JCP argues that this should be made mandatory.

Past related article:
> Koike: JCP will make all-out efforts to block LDP-Ishin coalition’s attempt to cut number of Diet seats [October 21, 2025]