Abstract Women under representation is a classic global issue. In Asian countries, which have a strong patriarchal culture, women must face more severe obstacles for increasing their representative in politics. What is more worrisome is that Japan, which is the most developed country in Asia, has a more severe problem, even when compared with Indonesia. This article aims to comparare and elucidate the difficulties which be faced by Japanese and Indonesian women for increasing their under representation in parliament (House of Representative). It was based on research conducted with literature study methods and interviews with related political figures. The analysis will be conducted on three key variables, namely historical, cultural, and political variables in both countries. I argue that both Japanese and Indonesian women have to face the masculin culture in political parties and unfriendly electoral system, but Indonesian women got a slightly better result on the House of Representative since they have different historical, cultural, and political contexs.