Japanese Elections Fail to Produce Gains for Women

TOKYO—The result of Japan’s election—a victory for the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party—was familiar in another way as well. Less than one in 10 of the victorious candidates were women.

Among those who couldn’t break through was Maiko Takahashi, a 33-year-old former Bloomberg News reporter who won the LDP’s endorsement to run for an open seat in the southern island of Kyushu. Ms. Takahashi lost by a 49% to 38% margin to a labor union-backed male veteran politician, 63-year-old Shuji Kira.