Takaichi’s reshuffle falls short of pledge on raising female representation

Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic President Sanae Takaichi, in a recent reshuffle of her Cabinet and party executive personnel, appointed only a few women, despite her earlier pledge to increase women’s representation to levels seen in Northern European countries.

Two fewer women are now serving as Cabinet ministers or in other top government posts, while the four key party executive posts all went to men. This also deviates from the government’s gender equality target.

At the Cabinet level, the number of female ministers remains unchanged from before the reshuffle, with only Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and economic security minister Kimi Onoda being part of Takaichi’s administration. Including the prime minister, women make up about 16% of the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, among top non-Cabinet government officials, the number of female state ministers and parliamentary vice ministers has fallen from eight to six.

In the LDP, Haruko Arimura was removed as chair of the general council, and only two of the 14 senior party executives — Takaichi and Takako Suzuki, head of the public relations headquarters — are women.

In last year’s LDP presidential election, Takaichi pledged to create a “Cabinet and party leadership with as many women as in Northern European countries.” Even so, female representation in Japan remains far below levels in Northern European countries, where about half of ministers are women.

According to the 2026 Gender Gap Index released by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked 121st out of 145 countries in the political field. The index reflects factors including the number of years women have served as head of government over the past 50 years and the gender ratio among lawmakers and ministers.

Last autumn, the election of Japan’s first ever female prime minister raised expectations for significant improvement. Still, Takaichi has emphasized “equal opportunities” and has publicly expressed opposition to setting aside positions for women. A high-ranking government official said that the latest personnel changes were “based on merit” and that gender was not taken into consideration.

On the other hand, the sixth basic plan for gender equality, which the Takaichi administration drew up this spring, stated that appointing women to decision-making posts is “extremely important from the viewpoint of securing substantial equality of opportunity between men and women.” The plan retained the target of raising the proportion of women in leadership positions to around 30% as early as possible in the 2020s.

In her reshuffle, Takaichi instructed Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita, who also serves as minister for gender equality and women’s empowerment, to create an environment in which women can participate in decision-making in all organizations of society.

With reality yet to match the Takaichi administration’s stated goals, its commitment to putting them into practice is now being tested.