Japan sees record number of women run in general polls across ‘male-oriented’ parties

Japan has never had a woman prime minister and Ishiba narrowly beat one of its few prominent female politicians, nationalist Sanae Takaichi, to the top job in a party leadership vote.

The 1,344 lower house candidates who kicked off their campaigns on Tuesday for all 465 seats include a record 314 women, Japanese media including the Yomiuri and Asahi dailies said.

The ratio of women candidates – around 23 per cent – is also a record high, according to the Yomiuri.

Ishiba’s efforts to encourage women to run – instead of former lawmakers embroiled in a slush-fund scandal in certain cases – is one reason behind the increase, the reports said.