Toshiko Matsuo ( ja, 松尾トシ子, 14 July 1907 – 3 June 1993) was a Japanese politician. She was one of the first group of women elected to the House of Representatives in 1946, serving in parliament until 1958.

Biography

Born in Yokohama in 1907, Matsuo was educated at Ferris Japanese-English Girls' School. She became an English teacher at the Yokohama YMCA and established her own school, which later became the Japan Women's English Academy. Matsuo contested the 1946 general elections as a Japan Socialist Party candidate in Kanagawa, and was elected to the House of Representatives.Analysis of the 1946 Japanese General Election
United States Department of State, 1946, p60 She was re-elected in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

and

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

and became a member of the party's central executive committee. In 1948 Finance Minister was forced to resign after attempting to kiss Matsuo and Harue Yamashita.Amorous Jap Cabinet Minister Resigns
The Miami News, 14 December 1948 After losing her seat in the

1958 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1958. * 1958 Cardinal electors in Papal conclave * 1958 Papal conclave Africa * 1958 French Togoland parliamentary election * 1958 Nigerien Constituent Assembly election * 1958 South African general e ...

, Matsuo unsuccessfully contested the

1960 elections The following elections occurred in 1960. Africa * 1960 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1960 Belgian Congo general election * 1960 Dahomeyan parliamentary election * 1960 Dahomeyan presidential election * 1960 Gambian legislative election ...

as a Democratic Socialist Party candidate. She later joined the Liberal Democratic Party and became an advisor in Kanagawa Prefecture, as well as serving as chair of the Yokohama Citizens' Credit Union and president of the Matsuo Kosan company. She died in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsuo, Toshiko 1907 births Politicians from Yokohama Japanese educators 20th-century Japanese women politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Japan Socialist Party politicians Democratic Socialist Party (Japan) politicians 1993 deaths