Makiko Tanaka

Makiko Tanaka (born January 14, 1944) is a Japanese politician and the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and Hana Tanaka. She attended Germantown Friends School in the United States for high school and graduated from Waseda University in Japan. In her early adult years, she worked with her father's political organization, Etsuzankai, and served as the acting first lady following her mother Hana's longstanding illness.

Tanaka was elected to Japan's House of Representatives in 1993, shortly after the death of her father. She made history as Japan's first female Foreign Minister, serving from April 2001 until January 2002. Her tenure ended when she was dismissed from the cabinet following remarks critical of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who had previously made indirect negative comments about her.

Later in 2002, she was expelled from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and was barred from party membership for two years. In August of that year, Tanaka resigned from the Diet amid allegations of embezzling civil service salaries of her secretaries; however, a Tokyo court cleared her of these charges in September 2002. She subsequently ran as an independent candidate for the Diet in November 2003.

Tanaka married Naoki Suzuki in 1969. Since she had no brothers to carry on the family name, her husband was adopted as an adult into her family. In August 2009, she and her husband joined the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). She became the Diet chairperson of the Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in September 2009, and then the chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in September 2011.

On October 1, 2012, she was appointed Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's cabinet. During her tenure, on November 2, 2012, she denied applications for three new universities, contradicting a prior report that had endorsed their establishment. Her decision, which was unconventional for a minister, drew significant criticism. Under internal pressure from the DPJ, she reversed her stance and approved the university applications.

Tanaka lost her seat in the December 16, 2012, general election and left office on December 26, 2012. She has also authored a publication in Japanese titled "The English Language Development Program of the Los Angeles Unified School District: Implications for Elementary School English Education in Japan," which includes an English abstract and was published in the Journal of Kanda University of International Studies in 2009.

Her career encompasses various roles in the Japanese government, notable for her pioneering position as the first female Foreign Minister and her involvement in education policy.