A historically high number of women won election to the Japanese Diet's Upper House in the August 2019 elections. This may seem like a gain for a nation that ranks so low -- 124 out of 149 -- in terms of gender parity in politics.
In this article, I explain why it's too soon to declare progress, not least because of obstacles maintained by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
(Note: Article linked here is behind the Foreign Affairs paywall. A PDF is available for download at my academia.edu page.)