Karen Makishima

Karen Makishima
牧島かれん
Official portrait, 2013
Minister for Digital Transformation
In office
4 October 2021 – 10 August 2022
Prime MinisterFumio Kishida
Preceded byTakuya Hirai
Succeeded byTaro Kono
Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform
In office
4 October 2021 – 10 August 2022
Prime MinisterFumio Kishida
Preceded byTaro Kono
Succeeded byNaoki Okada
Member of the House of Representatives
for Kanagawa's 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 December 2012
Preceded byYōsuke Kamiyama
Personal details
Born (1976-11-01) 1 November 1976 (age 48)
Kanagawa, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic
Alma materInternational Christian University
George Washington University
OccupationUniversity professor

Karen Makishima (牧島かれん, Makishima Karen, born November 1, 1976) is a Japanese politician. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she has been a member of the House of Representatives from the Kanagawa 17th district since 2012.[1]

Early life and education

Makishima was born in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Her father was an assistant to representative Junichiro Koizumi and stood as a proportional representation candidate in the 1998 House of Councillors election. She received her bachelor's and doctorate from International Christian University and master's from George Washington University.[2]

Political career

Makishima ran for the Kanagawa 17th district seat in the 2009 election, but lost to DPJ candidate Yosuke Kamiyama. She defeated Kamiyama to win the seat in the 2012 election.

She served as Minister of Digital Affairs, Minister for Digital Reform, Minister in charge of Administrative Reforms, Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform and Minister of State for Regulatory Reform in the First Kishida Cabinet.[3]

Makishima is the only female candidate from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) running in her prefecture for the 2024 general election. Her candidacy highlights the challenges women face in Japan’s male-dominated political landscape, where female representation in parliament remains low despite efforts to reduce the gender gap.[4]

References

  1. ^ "MAKISHIMA Karen | Liberal Democratic Party of Japan". www.jimin.jp. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  2. ^ "MAKISHIMA Karen | Liberal Democratic Party of Japan". www.jimin.jp. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  3. ^ "New Prime Minister Kishida Fumio Names a Cabinet with Many Fresh Faces". nippon.com. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  4. ^ Kaneko, Kaori; Kelly, Tim; Wang, Irene (23 October 2024). "A man's world: Japan makes tepid push on gender gap in politics as election nears". Reuters. Retrieved 24 October 2024.


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