Editing Occupation of Japan (section)

===Enfranchisement of women===

After Japan's surrender, women's leaders in Japan began calling for women's enfranchisement. In August 1945, [[Ichikawa Fusae]] (a leader of the pre-war women's suffrage movement) organized the Women's Committee to Cope with Postwar Conditions, a group of 70 Japanese women whose top priorities included women's enfranchisement.<ref name="Mire, Koikare 2008, p. 48">Mire, Koikare, ''Pedagogy of Democracy: Feminism and the Cold War in the U.S. Occupation of Japan'', Temple University Press 2008, p. 48.</ref> Swayed by the urges of female leaders, Home Minister Horiuchi Zenjiro advocated for granting women enfranchisement in a meeting of the Japanese male leaders of the Shidehara Cabinet on October 9, 1945. Convinced, the cabinet voted unanimously to grant women the right to vote.<ref name="Mire, Koikare 2008, p. 48"/> Two days later, before any action was taken to enact the cabinet's decision, General MacArthur issued his five-point reform directive, one of the points being an order to liberate Japanese women through enfranchisement.<ref>Mire, Koikare, ''Pedagogy of Democracy: Feminism and the Cold War in the U.S. Occupation of Japan'', Temple University Press 2008, p. 49.</ref> After MacArthur issued his directive, the Japanese government officially lowered the voting age and [[Women's suffrage in Japan|extended the voting franchise to women]] in future elections.{{sfn|Takemae|2002|p=241}} On April 10, 1946, [[1946 Japanese general election|first post-war Japanese general election]] with 78.52% voter turnout among men and 66.97% among women was held,<ref>''[[Asahi Shimbun]]'' Staff 1972, p. 126.</ref> giving Japan its first prime minister partially elected by men and women, [[Shigeru Yoshida]] succeeded [[Kijūrō Shidehara]] as prime minister, took office on May 22, 1946.