Editorial
Record number of female Diet members shows barriers are falling
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister of Japan at a special Diet session on Wednesday, and the announcement of his Cabinet marks the formation of a new administration.
High hopes are held for the government as Japan enters a new political era. At the same time, eyes are on the record number of female Diet members and the role they will play. A total of 54 women were selected as members of the House of Representatives -- 11 more than last time -- bringing the percentage of female lawmakers in the Lower House to 11.3 percent. It is the first time since women obtained the right to vote in 1945 that the figure has passed the 10 percent mark.
On an international scale, Japan now ranks 95th in terms of the percentage of female lawmakers, up from 102nd place. Some may highlight the fact that the figure remains at a "mere" 10 percent. But we want to adopt a positive view. A figure that had been out of reach for over six decades has been attained. In light of the population ratio, it would not be unusual for half of all Diet members to be women, but the 10 percent mark forms the first step on the path to a 50 percent ratio.
Forty of the 54 female lawmakers elected to the Lower House belong to the DPJ, a fact resulting largely from the DPJ's active fielding of female candidates. We want to ask each party to make efforts to increase the ratio of female candidates in the future, including through open recruitment.
Nevertheless, even if a large number of female candidates are elected, unless their abilities can be maximized and they can become a driving force in the materialization of party pledges, then it will be impossible to increase the ratio to 20 or 30 percent. The government must not make the error of using women only at the time of an election, and then treating them as disposable.
A perceptual turnaround is crucial. Just as male Diet members are not representatives of men only, female Diet members do not represent women alone. But in reality, there is a tendency for women to focus on roles in particular fields in which hopes are held for them, such as the social progress of women, issues relating to the declining birth rate and education.
What is important from now on is Diet members are trained and utilized in line with the obvious standards of their abilities and personalities. In this respect, the DPJ-led coalition government represents an unparalleled opportunity for change. It is time to alter the government structure and customary practices that have remained in place for so long, starting from their very foundations. Japanese politics has entered an era that no one has experienced before, and so there are no handicaps for newcomers like in the past. On the contrary, new ideas will be lawmakers' strength.
The current situation also provides great opportunities for female Diet members in the opposition ranks: With existing politics having come to a dead end, rebuilding parties from scratch has become an urgent task for the opposition.
The resource that has been buried deepest in Japanese society, not just in politics, is women. The percentage of female students who go on to university stood at single digits in the 1970s; now the figure is over 40 percent, closing the gap between males students to its narrowest width so far. Yet the human resources that are cultivated have not been able to exhibit their full potential. As Japan faces the problem of population decline, it is a shame that a significant percentage of the population is not being utilized.
Discussions on measures to combat the declining birthrate tend to focus on increasing the rate of births, but it seems meaningless for the girls who are born into society to see restrictions placed on their future.
We can say that real improvements have been made when we have created a society in which the election of female Diet members is no longer news in itself.
(Mainichi Japan) September 16, 2009