As of February 2026, women hold only 4.3 percent of Japan’s mayoral offices. This figure reflects the country’s well-documented challenges with gender equality in political participation. Directly elected by voters, mayors occupy a prominent position in Japanese local politics. They can shape local policies and advance individual agendas, making them key drivers of local change. This situation raises an important question: how do female mayors perceive their roles and contributions within their local communities and the broader political landscape? Drawing on interviews with female mayors, this presentation aims to produce a contextually grounded understanding of how they perceive and perform their political roles. Through a multi-layered approach, the speaker seeks to explain how female mayors navigate gendered structures through everyday political practice, and to situate their individual perspectives within broader debates on gender and political representation in Japan. Details and registration here