Record 42 Women Elected to Japan's Upper House

Forty-two women were elected to the House of Councillors in Sunday's election, hitting a record high for the upper chamber of Japan's parliament.

The number of female candidates reached 152, the second highest on record. Of them, 27.6 pct were elected, surpassing the success rate of 22.4 for male candidates.

Women made up 33.6 pct of all elected candidates, exceeding 30 pct for the first time.

Of the 42 women elected, 27 won constituency seats and 15 secured proportional representation seats. The previous record high of 35 female winners was struck in the previous Upper House election in 2022.

By party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan had the largest number of female winners at 12, accounting for 54.5 pct of its elected members.

This was followed by the Liberal Democratic Party, which had seven female winners whose share was 17.9 pct, and Sanseito with seven female winners who made up 50 pct.

Five from the Democratic Party for the People were elected, accounting for 29.4 pct of its elected candidates.

Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) had three such women with a share of 42.9 pct, while the Japanese Communist Party and Reiwa Shinsengumi each had two such women with a share of 66.7 pct.

Four independent female candidates linked to the opposition side were also elected.

Of the total female winners, 21 were nonincumbents. Komeito, the Conservative Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party also fielded female candidates, but none won a seat.

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