Society

Japan ranks 165th for gender equality in world parliaments

Mar 05 (NHK) - An international survey shows female representation in national parliaments around the world has reached 26.1 percent, a record high. However, Japan lags behind, with women making up less than 10 percent of its Lower House members.

The survey by the Inter-Parliamentary Union looked at the ratios of women in lower or single houses of parliament as of January 1 this year. The results were published ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.

The report says out of the 188 countries surveyed, Rwanda had the highest ratio of female parliamentarians at 61.3 percent, followed by Cuba with 53.4 percent and Nicaragua with 50.6 percent.

Japan ranked 165th at 9.7 percent, having seen its proportion of female Lower House members drop by 0.2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Among the Group of Seven nations, France was 34th with 39.5 percent and the United States was 72nd with 27.7 percent. Japan was the only G7 nation that ranked below 100th. ...continue reading

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