Running in elections requires much money, and women traditionally do not have independent financial means, Nakajima said. More than 50 percent of local assemblies do not have a single assemblywoman. Women serve as mayors in only six out of the nation's more than 3,200 municipal governments, and there are no female prefectural governors. The traditional family system remains strong, as witnessed during a debate last month at a House of Councillors committee meeting on a bill to promote sexual equality, which was passed this month. So it is important to recognize the contributions of housewives.
Japan remains a society segregated according to gender.
In 1971, women earned an average 51 percent of what men did. Civil law remains unchanged, so that a married woman effectively has no choice but to use her husband's surname, although many working women are opposed to this. I am not saying that there has been no improvement in women's political, social and economic participation. But more progress should have been made. In her eyes, Japanese women lack the courage to assume economic responsibility, with many women working just to supplement the incomes of their husbands.