Women gradually rise in Japanese politics but face deep challenges
Voice of America
FILE - Incumbent Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike celebrates after she was elected for Tokyo's gubernatorial election in Tokyo, July 7, 2024.
Eight years ago, Yuriko Koike became the first woman to lead Tokyo, beating her male predecessor. She won her third term as governor Sunday, and one of her closest rivals was a woman.
FILE - Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa waits to welcome the senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Damascus, Dec. 30, 2024.
Thailand' s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at Government House for the cabinet meeting in Bangkok, Feb. 4, 2025.
FILE - French soldiers stand in line as they board a military plane following their departure from Abeche military base as part of an on ongoing withdrawal of French Forces in Abeche on Jan. 11, 2025.
FILE - Armed Taliban fighters parade atop humvee vehicles as they celebrate the first anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, near the former US embassy in Kabul on Aug. 31, 2022. FILE - Zabihullah Mujahid, chief Taliban spokesperson, talks with reporters in Doha, Qatar, June 30, 2024.
A police vehicle is seen near a Campus Risbergska building in Orebro, Sweden, on Feb. 4, 2025. Five people were shot at the school, police said. (TT news agency via AFP)
FILE - This picture taken on Sept. 10, 2023 shows Chinese tourists posing for photographs at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Thailand is concerned about the impact of Myanmar-based scam centers on its tourist market.
This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on Feb. 2, 2025 shows firefighters putting out a fire in Eastern Ukraine Sumy region following a Russian strike.
Israeli soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint where the military said an attacker fired at an army base near the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank, Feb. 4, 2025.
FILE - In this image taken from video provided by the Philippine coast guard, two Chinese ships aim their water cannons on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel, center, as it approaches Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on Dec. 9, 2023.
FILE - Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 11, 2024.
Members of the Congolese Red Cross and the Civilian Protection group bury dozens of bodies in a cemetery in Goma on Feb. 3, 2025.
In this undated photo released by Zoological Society of London on Feb. 3, 2025, Darwin's frog is seen at London Zoo.