Wednesday 31 December 2025 – 12:46 PM
About 60 female parliamentarians in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, submitted a petition demanding that the number of bathrooms in the parliament building be increased to match their increasing representation, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.
Japanese Parliament
The newspaper reported that the Japanese political scene is largely male-dominated, despite the increase in the number of women in Parliament during the recent elections, and Takaichi became the first woman to become prime minister last October.
This reality reflects the presence of only one bathroom containing two cubicles for about 73 female members of the House of Representatives near the main session hall in Tokyo.
Yasuko Komiyama of the opposition Democratic Constitution Party said: Women are forced to form long lines in front of the bathroom before the start of plenary sessions.
Her statement came after the cross-party petition, signed by 58 women, was submitted to Yasukazu Hamada, chairman of the House Rules and Administration Committee, earlier this month.
The Parliament Building was completed in 1936, about a decade before women gained the right to vote in December 1945 after Japan’s defeat in World War II.
The entire building includes 12 men’s restrooms with 67 cubicles, and 9 women’s restrooms with only 22 cubicles, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.
Japan ranked 118th out of 148 in the World Economic Forum’s gender gap report this year, and women are also significantly underrepresented in business and the media.
In elections, female candidates say they often face sexist comments, including advice that they should stay home to take care of the children.
