Political parties are boosting support for female candidates as part of preparations for the next election for the House of Representatives.
The parties hope to win the support of independent voters by demonstrating their commitment to increasing the number of female lawmakers, with Japan lagging behind other countries in terms of women's participation in politics.
But the number of female candidates has not increased as expected, and remains far from the government's target of raising the proportion of female candidates in Lower House elections to 35% by 2025.