is a Japanese politician and bureaucrat from Mishima, Shizuoka. She was the first woman to be appointed vice-governor of

Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...

in 1996 and served one term in the House of Councillors in the

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

from 2004 until 2009.

Early life and bureaucratic career

Sakamoto was born in

Mishima Mishima may refer to: Places * Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture * Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture * Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture * Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan ...

, and graduated from in the neighbouring city of Numazu. She graduated from the University of Tokyo with a Bachelor of Laws. In 1972 Sakamoto joined the Ministry of Labor (now part of Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), serving in the Women Labourers' section of the Women's Bureau. She later transferred to the Employment Security Bureau, where she served as head of the policy section for employment of the disabled. In 1996 Sakamoto was seconded to the post of Vice-Governor of

, becoming the first woman vice-governor of the prefecture. She served in that role until 1999. Following her term as Vice-Governor, Sakamoto returned to the Ministry and served as an Assistant Secretary to the Minister until 2001, then as head of the Occupational Health and Safety Department. Sakamoto finally served as head of the Human Resources Development Bureau from 2002 until her resignation from the ministry in 2004.

Political career

In July 2004 Sakamoto was elected to the House of Councillors as a Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the Shizuoka at-large district. Sakamoto received the most votes in a five-person contest for two seats, defeating incumbent Councillors of the LDP and of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Upon entering the Diet Sakamoto served on the House's Health, Welfare and Labour Committee and later in July 2007 was appointed as a director of the House's Budget Committee. In August 2007 Sakamoto was appointed as a parliamentary secretary of

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. However, immediately after her appointment an allegation concerning improper accounting of expenses was raised and led to Sakamoto resigning from the post one week after her appointment. She was replaced in the position by

Masakatsu Koike is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Councillors representing the Tokushima at-large district and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party. Political career See also * Referendum * Yosh ...

. In June 2009 Sakamoto resigned from the House of Councillors to contest the Shizuoka gubernatorial election the following month. Sakamoto contested the election as an independent candidate, but with the backing of the LDP and Komeito. Aware of the low popularity of the LDP's national government led by Prime Minister Tarō Asō, Sakamoto tried to distance herself from the party and ran on a campaign of the "prefecture people's party". Sakamoto received 713,654 votes (38.8%), but was defeated by Democratic Party candidate

Heita Kawakatsu has been the governor of Shizuoka Prefecture since 2009 and is currently serving his fourth term. He completed his D.Phil at wolfson college, Oxford, under Professor Peter Mathias and was Professor of Economics History at Waseda University, Tokyo ...

by a margin of 15,052 votes. The result was a precursor to the defeat of Aso and the LDP in the national general election held the following month.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakamoto, Yukiko Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Female members of the House of Councillors (Japan) University of Tokyo alumni Politicians from Shizuoka Prefecture Living people 1949 births Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians