"Japan's first women parliamentarians take their seats in the Lower House, 16 May 1946. The introduction of universal suffrage made women eligible to vote and hold office, and a total of 29 female condidates were elected in the nation's first postwar elections (Kyodo)"

From: Takemae Eiji. Inside GHQ: The Allied Occupation of Japan and its Legacy. New York: Continuum, 2002; 266.