Gendering the Japanese Political System: The Gender-Specific Pattern of Political Activity and Women's Political Participation

In the Japanese political arena, gender equality remains elusive. To explore the reasons for that inequality, this paper analyses the gender-specific pattern of political activity in Japan in the post-war period. Building on analyses of feminist theorists, it examines three case studies before proceeding to a discussion of the issue of women's political participation in Japan. It concludes with a consideration of the double-edged nature of gender-specific political strategies which both empower and constrain the political struggles of Japanese women.