Even as a long shot candidate for prime minister, Yuriko Koike is making waves in Japan, where women in high places remain rare.
The 56-year-old former defense minister is the first woman to run for president of the ruling party. The president is all but assured of becoming prime minister because the ruling party controls the Diet's powerful Lower House.
"We would like to find out if the glass ceiling for women is actually an iron plate or not. We will see," she told reporters Friday.