Two cubicles, 73 women, one long queue: Japan’s female MPs fight for more loos | Japan
Nearly 60 female lawmakers in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, submitted a petition calling for more toilets to be built in the parliament building in line with improved representation of women.
Although the number of women in parliament increased in the last election and Takaichi became the first female prime minister in October, Japanese politics remains largely male-dominated. This is reflected by the presence of a single toilet, containing two stalls, for use by the 73 women in the lower house, near the Diet’s main plenary hall in central Tokyo.
“Before the start of plenary sessions, many female lawmakers have to form long queues in front of the toilet,” said Yasuko Komiyama of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.
She spoke after presenting a cross-party petition signed by 58 women to Yasukazu Hamada, chairman of the lower house’s rules and administration committee, earlier this month.
The Diet building was completed in 1936, nearly a decade before women gained the right to vote in December 1945 after Japan’s defeat in World War II. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, the entire lower house building has 12 men’s toilets with 67 stalls and nine women’s toilets with a total of 22 stalls.
Japan ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s global gender inequality report this year. Women are also vastly underrepresented in business and the media.
Female candidates in elections say they often have to deal with sexist rhetoric, including being told they have to look after children at home.
72 of the 465 deputies in the lower house are women; While this number was 45 in the previous parliament, 74 of the 248 members in the upper house are women. The government’s stated goal is for women to occupy at least 30% of legislative seats.
Takaichi, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, said he wanted the gender balance to be “Nordic” before becoming prime minister. However, he ultimately appointed only two more women to his 19-person cabinet.
Takaichi, 64, said she hoped to raise awareness about women’s health issues and spoke candidly about her own experiences with menopause. But he is still seen as socially conservative. He opposes changing a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname and wants the reign of the imperial family to belong exclusively to men.
Komiyama said the increased demand for women’s restrooms could be seen as a sign of progress in Japan, but it also reflects the country’s failure to achieve gender equality.
“This in a way symbolizes how much the number of female MPs has increased,” she told reporters, according to her party’s website, adding that she hoped for greater equality in other areas of life.
