As the world marks International Women's Day on Thursday, an annual report shows again that Japan lags far behind other countries for women's participation in politics.
Japan ranked 158th among 193 countries surveyed by an international organization for representation of women in national parliaments in 2017.
The nation's moved up slightly from its position in the previous survey, in 163rd place. But despite a campaign by the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to increase the number of women in leadership roles in society, the survey results suggest progress has been limited.