Japan has grown as a democratic nation under the Peace Constitution. It has a 70-year history of valuing freedom and equality. It has also established an electoral system on par with other countries. In order to reflect the will of the people, a mixed electoral system of single-seat districts and proportional representation was introduced in the House of Representatives elections. Thirty years have passed since the political reforms of 1994. However, Japanese politics, which has advocated freedom and equality, is being rated low. Japan is ranked 138th out of 146 countries in terms of equality in the political field, making it the worst 10. Compared to other major countries, the diversity of the Japanese parliament is evaluated as lacking equality and diversity in terms of age, gender, etc.
In terms of members of parliament, if you compare the age of 57 in the United States with the age of 55 in Japan, Japan is younger. However, the world is critical. The percentage of female members of the House of Representatives in Japan is 10.3%, ranking 164th out of 186 parliaments in the world. Even in the United States, that many members are elderly, the percentage of women is 29.2%. Reforms are also progressing in South Korea, that the percentage of female members was lower than Japan in the past. According to documents from the Gender Equality Bureau of the Cabinet Office of Japan, South Korea’s percentage of female members was less than 5% in the 1990s. In 2000, South Korea introduced a quota system, which increased to 13% in 2004, and the number of female members has been increasing since then.
Japan has not been content with being behind. In 2018, the Act on Promotion of Gender Equality came into effect. The Act on Promotion of Gender Equality in the Political Field called on each political party to have equal numbers of male and female candidates. However, this spirit has not yet taken root. One solution may be to help with housework. Cleaning and cooking can be fun if done properly. If both boys and girls can do housework normally, the burden on mothers will be reduced. It is very easy to find happiness while doing housework. Happiness is not a huge lump, but a series of small joys. If children, regardless of gender, naturally help with making choices and eating, happiness will be born. If children, regardless of gender, naturally help with making choices and eating, a change will appear in Japan’s gender. One solution is for both men and women to enjoy many small joys. The other is a measure from the top. That is, the introduction of a quota system. I hope that these two measures will help to eliminate the gender gap in Japan, even if only a little.
