Date of Thesis
Spring 2023
Description
Despite being a democratic and economically successful country, women in Japanese politics are extremely underrepresented. Since institutional factors do not explicitly prohibit women from holding office, this project turns to cultural factors to analyze this problem. Issues such as strict gender roles, sexual harassment, and rhetoric surrounding women politicians are some factors contextualizing the lives of Japanese women. In order to better understand these cultural barriers, this project turns to content analysis of news media in Japan to consider the ways in which women politicians are framed to the electorate, which may thus explain the low rates of elected women.
Keywords
sekuhara, Japanese politics, women's political underrepresentation, media analysis
Access Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Type
Bachelor of Arts
Major
Political Science
Minor, Emphasis, or Concentration
Philosophy
First Advisor
Christina Xydias
Second Advisor
Vivien Leung
Recommended Citation
Whitmer, Elizabeth L., "The Underrepresentation of Women in Japanese Politics: Through the Lens of Sekuhara, Sexism, and Media Rhetoric" (2023). Honors Theses. 633.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/honors_theses/633