Japan Has Its First Woman Leader. Just Don’t Ask Her About Feminism
Sanae Takaichi’s rise marks a milestone, but women in Japan still struggle to enter politics, lead corporations, or share in some of its most revered traditions.
Sanae Takaichi after voting for Japan’s new prime minister on Oct. 21.
Photographer: Kyodo News/AP Photo/Kyodo NewsWhen Seiko Noda entered Japan’s parliament in 1993 as the first woman elected to the lower house from the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party, she was dismayed to find no women’s restroom. The rookie lawmaker had to slip into the men’s facilities, where a small area had been partitioned off for the few female members.
That early sense of being somewhere she didn’t belong set the tone for a career she’s spent pushing her overwhelmingly male party to improve female representation and to ease the broader struggles facing Japanese women. Three decades later, parliament’s facilities have improved, but progress for women in most other areas has been uneven.