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An Alternative Form of Women's Political Representation: Netto, a Proactive Women's Party in Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2019

Ki-Young Shin Open the ORCID record for Ki-Young Shin [Opens in a new window]
Ki-Young Shin*
Affiliation:
Ochanomizu University, Japan
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Abstract

This article examines a Japanese local party, Netto, as a new type of women's party. The Netto is defined as a “proactive women's party” to illustrate how it is different not only from conventional political parties but also from parties organized to promote feminist platforms. The Japanese Netto is a women-dominated party in which women constitute the majority of members and candidates, as well as party leadership. The party platform prioritizes practical women's interests such as safe food and child-rearing over women's labor or feminist issues. The gendered characteristics of Netto appeal to middle-class housewives and mothers, facilitating the electoral success of the party in urban areas. The party's notable features, such as rotation of deputies, term limits, donation of deputy salary, and volunteerism, distinguish Netto from conventional political parties. As such, the party provides an alternative model of political representation. The Netto party illustrates that not all women's parties use a feminist platform, but they still play an important role in changing male-dominated electoral politics.

Keywords

Local partywomen's partyNettoSeikatsusha networkwomen's political representationJapan
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Symposium on Women's Parties , March 2020 , pp. 78 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

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