Nissan Seminar: Gill Steel (Waseda/Oxford), ‘Why are Women so Underrepresented in Japanese Politics? Party Gatekeeping in Lower House Elections (1996-2026)’

Convener(s): Professor Kristi Govella and Dr. Alice Baldock

Speaker(s): Gill Steel (Waseda/Oxford)

Despite evidence that Japanese voters do not systematically discriminate against female candidates, women remain substantially underrepresented in Japan’s House of Representatives. This presentation will argue that political parties, rather than voters, constitute the principal barrier to women’s representation. Drawing on theories of party gatekeeping, feminist institutionalism, and homosocial capital, it analyzes all eleven House of Representatives elections held under Japan’s post-1994 electoral system using Japan’s House of Representatives Single-Member District Data (1996–2026). Focusing on Single-Member Districts, where party nomination decisions are most consequential, the analysis shows that women, particularly newcomer women, are systematically allocated to more competitive districts than are men. Even when parties defend seats they already hold, women receive less of the electoral advantage associated with safer districts. Finally, the Liberal Democratic Party is more likely to nominate women in districts that are in electoral crisis. The findings demonstrate that improving women’s representation requires attention to how many women parties nominate and to where they allocate those candidates. 

Gill Steel is currently an academic visitor at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and visiting researcher at Waseda University. She was previously professor of political science at Doshisha University. She has published on public opinion, women and politics, and voting preferences. Her previous publications included Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan (2019), 現代日本社会の権力構造 (with Masahiko Asano, 2018), Power in Contemporary Japan (2016), Changing Politics in Japan (with Ikuo Kabashima, 2010), and Democratic Reform in Japan (with Sherry Martin, 2008). She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago.