Karen Makishima (牧島かれん, Makishima Karen, born November 1, 1976) is a Japanese politician who 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.[1] A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she has been a member of the House of Representatives from the Kanagawa 17th district since 2012.[2]

Karen Makishima
牧島かれん
Minister for Digital
In office
4 October 2021 – 10 August 2022
Prime MinisterFumio Kishida
Preceded byTakuya Hirai (as Digital Minister)
Succeeded byTaro Kono (as Minister for Digital Transformation)
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
Assumed office
16 December 2012
Preceded byYōsuke Kamiyama
Personal details
Born (1976-11-01) 1 November 1976 (age 47)
Kanagawa, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
Alma materGeorge Washington University

Early life and education edit

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.[3]

Political career edit

She 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.

References edit

  1. ^ "New Prime Minister Kishida Fumio Names a Cabinet with Many Fresh Faces". nippon.com. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  2. ^ "MAKISHIMA Karen | Liberal Democratic Party of Japan". www.jimin.jp. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  3. ^ "MAKISHIMA Karen | Liberal Democratic Party of Japan". www.jimin.jp. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

External links edit