A group of multiparty lawmakers will submit to the Diet this year a bill aimed at dealing with the low representation of women in Japanese politics, which puts the country near the bottom of global rankings on the issue, political sources said Wednesday.
However, the bill will only ask political parties to "make efforts" to field men and women in equal numbers as candidates in national and local elections, and will not penalize those who fall short of the target.
Among politicians who have been working on the bill are Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who also serves as minister for gender equality, and Masaharu Nakagawa, a Lower House member of the opposition Democratic Party.