Many female prefectural assembly members across the country believe the nation cannot achieve its target of raising the proportion of women in political leadership roles to 30 percent by 2020, a Kyodo News poll showed Saturday.
The poll targeting 261 female prefectural assembly members, conducted in February and March, found a pessimistic view of the country's slow progress in achieving gender balance, with more than 70 percent of the 161 respondents saying the government-set target is "unachievable."
While Sunday marks the 70th anniversary since women in Japan first voted and were elected in a national election, only 9.8 percent of the prefectural assembly seats in Japan were held by women as of the end of 2015, according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.