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 ...

and a former leader of the

Party for Japanese Kokoro The , officially the , was a Japanese political party. It was formed as the on 1 August 2014 by a group of Diet members led by Shintarō Ishihara. The party adopted its final name in December 2015, and ended up dissolving in November 2018. Hist ...

. In the past she has been a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Sunrise Party of Japan and

Japan Restoration Party The , also referred to in English as the Japan Restoration Association, was a Japanese political party. It was launched on 12 September 2012 and gained official recognition on 28 September 2012. The party grew from the regional Osaka Restoration ...

and is serving her second term as a member of 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, ...

(Upper House) 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). She was Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (''naikaku sōri-daijin hosakan'') for the North Korean abduction issue under

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 ...

, beginning in 2002. She left the post in 2004 but was reappointed by

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

in 2006. She was appointed by

Yasuo Fukuda is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō M ...

as State Minister in charge of the Population and Gender Equality Issues on August 1, 2008.''

The 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 ...

'', "Fukuda's new lineup", August 3, 2008. A graduate of 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 ...

(with a major in French literature), she worked at the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

from 1966 until 1999, when she was appointed as ambassador of Japan to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. She was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2007, and again in 2013.House of Councillor
Ms. Nakayama Kyoko
Retrieved March 25, 2015 During her campaign, she pledged to resolve the abduction issue. Her husband,

Nariaki Nakayama is a Japanese politician who has served as leader of Kibō no Tō from 2019 to 2021. He served as Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in the Cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi and later as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, ...

, is a former transport minister and was also a diet member. She and her husband left the LDP and joined the Sunrise Party of Japan on June 21, 2010. Along with other members of that party she moved to Shintaro Ishihara's short lived Sunrise Party, and with the merger of that party with the

she became a member of that party. When Shintaro Ishihara's group left that party to form the

Party for Future Generations The , officially the , was a Japanese political party. It was formed as the on 1 August 2014 by a group of Diet members led by Shintarō Ishihara. The party adopted its final name in December 2015, and ended up dissolving in November 2018. Hist ...

she and her husband went too. Her husband lost his seat at the 2014 general election, but she remains in the diet.Party for Future Generation
Officer List
Retrieved March 25, 2015 In October 2015 she became leader of the Party for Future Generations and in December of that year led the party in changing its name to the

Notes

References

External links

Cabinet Profile
* in Japanese.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakayama, Kyoko Government ministers of Japan Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Women government ministers of Japan Female members of the House of Councillors (Japan) North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens Japanese anti-communists Ambassadors of Japan to Uzbekistan Spouses of Japanese politicians University of Tokyo alumni Politicians from Tokyo 1940 births Living people Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Sunrise Party politicians 21st-century Japanese politicians Party for Japanese Kokoro politicians 21st-century Japanese women politicians Ambassadors of Japan to Tajikistan Japanese women ambassadors