Japanese female lawmakers petition for more restroomsAFP, TOKYONearly 60 female lawmakers in Japan, including Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more toilets in the National Diet Building to match their improved representation. Although the number of female politicians rose in the last election — and despite Takaichi becoming the first female prime minister in October — Japanese politics remains massively male-dominated. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The entire lower house building has 12 men’s restrooms with 67 stalls and nine women’s facilities with 22 cubicles, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. Seventy-two of 465 lower house lawmakers are women, up from 45 in the previous parliament, as are 74 of the 248 upper house members.

Source: Taipei Times December 31, 2025 17:16 UTC