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🇸🇬 Singapore /Elections & Politics

Japan Parliament Adds Two Women's Toilets After Lawmaker Petition

From The Straits Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Japan's Parliament will add two more women's toilet cubicles after a petition from 58 female lawmakers.
  • Women hold only 68 of 465 seats in the lower house, despite government goals for 30% representation.
  • The Diet building, constructed in 1936, has historically had limited facilities for women, reflecting Japan's gender imbalance in politics.

Japan's Parliament is set to increase the number of women's toilet cubicles by two, a move officials announced on July 2. This decision follows a petition submitted in December by 58 female Members of Parliament (MPs) who highlighted the insufficient facilities relative to their growing representation.

The toilet next to the main chamber has only two individual cubicles for women, but the number will be expanded to four.

— Lower house spokeswomanExplaining the planned increase in women's toilet facilities.

Despite government aspirations to achieve at least 30 percent female representation in legislative seats, women currently occupy only 68 out of the 465 available seats in the lower house, as per the February election results. The current women's restroom near the main chamber features only two individual cubicles, a number that will be expanded to four after the current Diet session concludes on July 17. Officials indicated that further additions on other floors are under consideration.

Hideko Nishioka, the sole woman on the committee that approved the expansion, welcomed the improvement, acknowledging the "sheer shortage of women's restrooms for Diet staff and secretaries as well." The petition, signed by a cross-party group including Japan's first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, aimed to address the long queues of female lawmakers before plenary sessions. Yasuko Komiyama, an opposition party signatory, described the frequent waits.

I welcome the move to improve, if only a little, the sheer shortage of women’s restrooms for Diet staff and secretaries as well.

— Hideko NishiokaCommenting on the decision to add more toilet cubicles.

The Diet building, completed in 1936, predates women's suffrage in Japan, which was granted in December 1945. Current statistics reveal a significant disparity: the entire Lower House building offers 12 men's toilets with 67 stalls, compared to nine women's facilities with a total of 22 cubicles. This infrastructure imbalance mirrors Japan's broader gender gap, as indicated by its 118th ranking out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Global Gender Gap Report. Women in Japan also face under-representation in business and media, often encountering sexist remarks during election campaigns.

Before plenary sessions start, so many women lawmakers queue up in front of the restroom.

— Yasuko KomiyamaDescribing the situation leading to the petition.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Straits Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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