is a Japanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

of the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic Part ...

, 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). A native of

Shibuya, Tokyo Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, ...

and graduate of

Seijo University is a private university in Seijo, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. It is operated by the Seijo Gakuen institute. Seijo University has its origins in Seijo Gakuen (成城学園), which was founded in 1917 by Dr. Masataro Sawayanagi, a former Ministe ...

, she worked at the public broadcaster

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

from 1972 to 1998. She was elected to the

House of Councilors 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, or ...

for the first time in 1998 and then to the House of Representatives for the first time in April 2003. In September 2011 she was appointed

Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan. Minister Katsunobu Ka ...

in the cabinet of newly appointed prime minister

Yoshihiko Noda is a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 2011 to 2012. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a member of the House of Representatives (lower house) in the Diet (national legislature). He was named to succeed Naoto K ...

.''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'',
Cabinet Profiles: Noda Cabinet
, 3 September 2011, p. 3.

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* in Japanese. 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) People from Shibuya Living people 1948 births Democratic Party of Japan politicians Ministers of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan Noda cabinet 21st-century Japanese politicians 21st-century Japanese women politicians Seijo University alumni {{Japan-politician-1940s-stub