Japan's Cabinet Shrinks Female Representation Amid Gender Equality Concerns

Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has reduced female representation in his cabinet from five to two women, sparking concerns about gender equality. This decline reflects the challenges of achieving political empowerment for women in Japan, which ranks among the lowest for female political representation in G7 nations.

Japan's new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed only two women to his 20-member cabinet, a decline from five previously, prompting criticism from rights groups who call it a 'backslide' in gender representation. Junko Mihara will handle children's policies, while Toshiko Abe oversees education.

Outgoing prime minister Fumio Kishida, who resigned in August, had elevated women to a quarter of his cabinet, including the foreign minister role. This representation matched historic highs seen in 2001 and 2014 but remains far below other G7 countries. Japan's ruling party aims to raise female lawmakers from around 10% to 30% in the next decade, a commitment now questioned.

Teppei Kasai of Human Rights Watch remarked that the reduction from five to two women highlights Japan's significant gap in gender equality and women's empowerment in politics. With an election due on Oct. 27, it remains uncertain how many female candidates the ruling party will field. Despite setbacks, there are hopes for socially-progressive policies like allowing married women to retain maiden names.

(With inputs from agencies.)