Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.

Takako Doi was a Japanese politician. She was leader of the Japan Socialist Party from 1986 to 1991 and its successor party the Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2003. In the former role, she became the first female leader of a major Japanese political party, and the country's first female opposition leader. Doi's leadership and the result of the 1989 Upper House elections are considered watershed moments for female political participation in Japan.

The Social Democratic Party is a political party in Japan that was established in 1996. Since its reformation and name change in 1996, it has advocated pacifism and defined itself as a social-democratic party. It was previously known as the Japan Socialist Party .

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by Article 41 and Article 42 of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation, and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies.