Japanese lawmakers point to unique shortage: bathrooms for them

Tokyo — Nearly 60 female lawmakers in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have filed a petition calling for more bathrooms in the parliament building to match their improved representation.

Although the number of female politicians increased in the last elections – and despite the fact that Takaichi become the first female prime minister in October –Japanese politics remains massively dominated by men.

This is reflected in the fact that, according to the petition, there is only one bathroom with two stalls near the main Diet plenary session room for the 73 women elected to the lower house.

“Before the plenary sessions begin, many female legislators have to wait in long lines in front of the bathroom,” said Yasuko Komiyama of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.

She spoke after presenting the all-party appeal signed by 58 women to Yasukazu Hamada, chairman of the lower house rules and administration committee, earlier this month.

The Diet building was completed in 1936, almost a decade before women gained the vote in December 1945, following Japan’s defeat in World War II.

The entire lower house building has 12 men’s toilets with 67 stalls and nine women’s facilities with a total of 22 stalls, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

Japan ranked 118 out of 148 this year in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. Women are also grossly underrepresented in business and the media.

In elections, female candidates say they often have to deal with sexist taunts, including being told they should be home taking care of their children.

In the last election, in 2024, 73 women were elected to the 465-seat lower house (one has since dropped out), up from 45 in the previous parliament. There are 74 women in the 248-seat upper house.

The government’s stated goal is for women to hold at least 30 percent of legislative seats.

Takaichi, an admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, said before becoming prime minister that she wanted “Nordic” levels of gender balance in her cabinet.

But in the end, he named only two other women to his 19-member cabinet.

Takaichi, 64, has said she hopes to raise awareness of women’s health issues and has spoken candidly about her own experience with menopause.

But it is still considered socially conservative.

He opposes the revision of a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname and wants the imperial family to maintain male-only succession.

The growing demand for women’s toilets can be seen as a sign of progress for Japan, although it also reflects the country’s failure to achieve gender equality, Komiyama said.

“In a way, this symbolizes how the number of female legislators has increased,” Komiyama told reporters, according to her party’s website, adding that she hoped for greater equality in other areas of life.