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The Tokyo governor race: What it says about the role of women in Japan
Japan has a dismal record on gender equality and suffers from a lack of female role models. A Koike versus Renho contest offers a chance for change
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Renho Saito (left), an upper house lawmaker from the CDPJ, threw her hat into the ring on May 27, which would pit her against Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.
PHOTOS: BLOOMBERG
William Pesek
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Patriarchal Japan spent the last dozen years pledging to empower the female half of the nation’s 125 million people. It failed rather dismally.
It ranked 125th among 146 economies in terms of gender equality in the World Economic Forum’s league tables in 2023, far below its 101st spot in 2012.
