Prime Minister Fumio Kishida filled all 54 junior ministerial positions with men following his recent Cabinet reshuffle, in sharp contrast to the senior ministers’ lineup and its record-tying five women.

During the Cabinet meeting on Sept. 15, the administration selected 26 senior vice ministers and 28 parliamentary secretaries. This is the first time not a single woman was appointed to one of these positions since the posts were introduced in 2001.

“I appointed Cabinet ministers, senior vice ministers, parliamentary secretaries and special advisers to the prime minister, ensuring the right people are placed in the appropriate positions,” Kishida told reporters later the same day.

“I created a balance across different age groups and between genders,” he said.

Among five special advisers to the prime minister, two women were appointed.

“Even without joining the government, (women) can actively contribute to a wide range of areas, including formulating policies and participating in discussions in the Diet and the ruling party, as well as managing parliamentary affairs,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference the same day.

The positions of senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries were introduced in 2001 to promote policies led by politicians rather than by bureaucrats.

Senior vice ministers fill in for their ministers’ duties in their absence, while parliamentary secretaries assist ministers in specific policy areas.

The posts are often allocated to relatively young lawmakers to give them experience.

Typically, senior vice ministers are filled by those who have been elected four or five times, and parliamentary secretaries are taken by those who have been elected two or three times.

In the Cabinet reshuffle in August last year, a total of 11 women were appointed as senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

“We chose mainly those who have not previously served as senior vice ministers or parliamentary secretaries,” which eventually resulted in all posts filled by male lawmakers, said a senior official in the prime minister’s office.

STRUCTURAL ISSUES FOR LDP

Tackled about the paucity of female appointments, Matsuno said, “Promoting women is a crucial agenda for the Kishida Cabinet.”

But structural problems within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party seem to have thwarted this attempt at equality.

Matsuno and his deputies led the appointments for senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries. They worked late in the night on Sept. 14, but it was tough going.

Strenuous efforts were made to appoint a woman to one of the three parliamentary secretary posts in the Foreign Ministry, according to senior government officials.

However, all the prospective female candidates declined or were bounced for some reason. One of them said, “I don’t know when next election will be held, and I can’t afford (the time) to go abroad once a month (as the ministry’s parliamentary secretary),” according to a source.

Other female candidates were knocked back because of issues uncovered during background checks to determine whether they had engaged in any misconduct.

Yoko Kamikawa was appointed foreign minister, one of five women named to Cabinet portfolios in the Sept. 13 reshuffle.

“On the surface, it looks like the government added more women in the Cabinet. But when looked at closely, people may think that not much has changed,” said a senior LDP official who has served in one of the party’s three top positions.

Just showcasing female appointments in high-profile Cabinet positions won’t fool voters, the official suggested.

The government makes appointments of senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries after considering recommendations from the LDP’s factions. Appointments are influenced by the preferences of the factions, even more so than the Cabinet nominations.

The Abe faction, the largest bloc in the LDP with 100 members, presented the prime minister’s office with a list of requests that included no female Lower House members.

Among 23 members who were elected three to four times, only three are women. A senior Abe faction official suggested that female appointments could upset male lawmakers who are in the majority.

“We cannot appoint the same women over and over again,” the official said. “Men also need opportunities to shine.”

The Motegi faction with 54 members and the Kishida faction with 46 members also did not include any female Lower House members on their lists.

The Nikai faction with 41 members has only one woman, Hanako Jimi. But she joined the Cabinet as state minister for regional revitalization in the reshuffle.

Of all LDP lawmakers, women make up about 12 percent, or 45 members.

“With women holding various positions, the number of women who can be assigned as senior vice ministers or parliamentary secretaries is decreasing,” said LDP Upper Houser member Kuniko Inoguchi, who served as state minister for gender equality and social affairs in the administration headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

“We need to devise ways to increase the number of women,” she said, echoing an oft-heard plea.

(This article was written by Takero Yamazaki, Shohei Sasagawa and Takahiro Okubo.)