New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday named two women ministers to his Cabinet, down from five in the outgoing administration.
Women are poorly represented in politics and business in Japan, and the world's fourth-largest economy has never had a woman prime minister.
Japan ranked 118 among 146 nations in the 2024 World Economic Forum's gender equity rankings, up from 125th but still the lowest among Group of Seven nations.
The two women in Ishiba's 20-strong Cabinet have been given relatively minor positions, with Junko Mihara responsible for policies on children and Toshiko Abe in charge of education.
The government and businesses have regularly missed a range of self-imposed targets and plans to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
Ishiba's predecessor Fumio Kishida last year appointed five women to his Cabinet, a joint record for Japan, including Yoko Kamikawa as foreign minister.
Kishida's government also passed laws seeking to increase the number of women in corporate boardrooms.
Kamikawa was one of nine candidates — two of them women — for the leadership contest for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which was won last week by Ishiba. As foreign minister, she was replaced by former Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
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