Japan

House of Representatives

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

Data on women

Information on the current and historical representation of women in the parliament. Consult the 'Elections' tab to see how women have fared in elections or renewals.

Current representation

Women's representation in the current parliament or chamber

Current number of members
464
Women
50
Percentage of women
10.8%

Speaker

No information available

Secretary general

No information available

Data on age at the start of the legislature

Number of members, by age (2021-11)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 24 47 72 143 94 37 2 0 420
Female 0 0 3 5 6 17 13 1 0 0 45
Totals per age interval 0 1 27 52 78 160 107 38 2 0 465
Total <= 45: 80 Total >= 46: 385
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.2% 0.2% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
6.0% 5% 0.6%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
17.2% 15% 1.7%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No

First woman in parliament

Year of first woman in parliament
1946

First woman speaker

Year of first woman speaker
1993

Women’s suffrage

Women’s right to vote
1945
Restricted or universal suffrage
Restricted
Detail of restrictions
Only for elections to the Lower house
Women’s right to vote
1947
Restricted or universal suffrage
Universal

Notes: Women exercised their right to vote for the first time in 10 April 1946

Women's right to stand for election
1945
Restricted or universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions
Women only allowed to stand for lower house elections
Women's right to stand for election
1947
Restricted or universal
Universal

Women's caucus

Women's caucuses or parliamentary groups that bring together women parliamentarians to strengthen cooperation and amplify their voices. For other parliamentary bodies or committees that have a specific mandate to address gender equality matters, see the ‘Specialized body – Gender equality’ tab.

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No