'I want to solve social issues by starting small,' said 36-year-old Shinobori, who lives in Nagano in central Japan. Natsuki Shinobori 'felt responsible for my country' after having two boys and joined the scheme with the hope of becoming a local politician. Noda, 62, told AFP she 'couldn't even find the women's bathroom' when she started her political career in parliament's lower house three decades ago.Īnd while she believes the situation is slowly improving, Noda is keen to encourage women to enter the field given the 'overwhelming lack of young female politicians'.Ī nursery was available during the seminars for those with children, and remote access was also an option. 'Even well-educated people have the entrenched view of politics as a male domain,' said the former internal affairs minister and women's empowerment minister. Rei Murakami Frenzel runs a mentorship programme for women aspiring to join Japan's overwhelmingly male-dominated political scene © Philip FONG / AFP She ran against Kishida in the ruling party's last leadership race and is a lecturer for the programme. Japan has never had a woman prime minister and that must change, said lawmaker Seiko Noda. Japan's 'homogenous' power base - even the parliament's less powerful upper house is 75 percent male - means lawmakers are 'not tackling diverse social issues', said Murakami Frenzel, whose father is a renowned activist investor.

'We had assumed that women didn't want to be politicians, but in fact, there just wasn't enough support,' she said.

'Homogenous'įoundation chair Rei Murakami Frenzel, 28, was surprised so many people applied for the first programme, which ran from November to March. She said the foundation has helped her build a network and better understand the 'good and bad aspects of the political world'. Saito, a social sciences student, initially didn't know where to begin. High-profile examples of discrimination in Japan, such as the forced sterilisation of disabled people under a now-defunct eugenics law, strengthened her resolve. 'I became interested in becoming a politician because I thought I could give hope to people with disabilities,' said Saito, who has had surgery for hearing loss.

Women interested in careers in Japanese politics attend a Murakami Family Foundation training programme in Tokyo © Philip FONG / AFP

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