was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(national legislature).

Early life and education

Moriyama was born in Tokyo on 7 November 1927. Her father was a businessman, who was progressive and liberal. Her mother was a conservative type of a housewife. In 1947, she graduated from the department of foreign languages at Tsuda College. She also received a bachelor's degree in law from the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

in 1950.

Career

Moriyama worked at the Ministry of Labor from 1950 to 1980. She was elected to the first of her three terms in the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

in 1980 and then to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996. She headed the environment agency until 26 August 1989 when she was appointed chief cabinet secretary in the cabinet of

Toshiki Kaifu was a Japanese politician who served as the 77th Prime Minister of Japan from 1989 to 1991. Early life and education Kaifu was born on 2 January 1931, in Nagoya City, the eldest of six brothers. His family's business Nakamura Photo Studio wa ...

. Moriyama replaced Tokuo Yamashita and became the first Japanese woman appointed to this post. She was dismissed after six months of tenure on 6 January 1990. Misoji Sakamoto succeeded her as chief cabinet secretary. She was appointed Minister of Education to the cabinet of Prime Minister

Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of the National Diet of Japan for over 50 years. Early life and education Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in Fukuyama ...

on 12 November 1992. She was also Japan's first female education minister. She remained in office until 1993. She also served as Minister of Justice from 26 April 2001 to 19 November 2003 in the first cabinet of Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

. Moriyama became principal of Hakuoh University in 2007, and remained in that post until 2013.

Personal life

Moriyama is the widow of representative

Kinji Moriyama Kinji (written: 欣二, 欽治, 錦司 or キンジ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Kinji Akagawa Kinji Akagawa (born 1940, Tokyo, Japan) is an American sculptor, printmaker, and arts edu ...

. In 1991, she published a book, titled ''What I Saw in the Cabinet''.

Death

Moriyama died in Tokyo at the age of 93 on 14 October 2021.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moriyama, Mayumi 1927 births 2021 deaths University of Tokyo alumni Education ministers of Japan Ministers of Justice of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Women government ministers of Japan Female members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Female members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Spouses of Japanese politicians People from Tokyo Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians 21st-century Japanese politicians 21st-century Japanese women politicians Female justice ministers