Makiko Tanaka

Makiko Tanaka
田中 眞紀子
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In office 1 October 2012 – 26 December 2012
Prime Minister	Yoshihiko Noda
Preceded by	Masaharu Nakagawa
Succeeded by	Hakubun Shimomura
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan
In office 2001–2002
Prime Minister	Junichiro Koizumi
Preceded by	Yōhei Kōno
Succeeded by	Junichiro Koizumi
Personal details
Born	(1944-01-14) 14 January 1944 Nishiyama, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party (until 2003) Democratic Party of Japan (2009–present)
Spouse(s)	Naoki Suzuki
Alma mater	Waseda University

Makiko Tanaka (田中 眞紀子, Tanaka Makiko, born in Nishiyama, Niigata, 14 January 1944) is a Japanese politician. She is the daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.

Tanaka attended high school at Germantown Friends School in the United States and graduated from Waseda University. She spent most of her early adulthood working with her father's political machine Etsuzankai, and was first lady to her father since her mother, Hana, was absent due to long-standing illness. She was elected to the Lower House in 1993, shortly after her father's death.

Makiko Tanaka (left) visits with the United States Navy dive team engaged in the salvage and recovery operation of Ehime Maru off Oahu, Hawaii on September 9, 2001.

Tanaka was the first female foreign minister of Japan, from April 2001 to January 2002, but was fired from the cabinet after making remarks critical of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Later that year, she was expelled from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and barred from party membership for two years.

In August 2002, Tanaka resigned from the Diet after allegations that she had embezzled her secretaries' civil service salaries. A Tokyo court cleared her in September, and she ran for the Diet again as an independent in November 2003.

Her husband Naoki Suzuki, whom she married in 1969 was adopted as an adult into her family, because she has no brothers to carry on the family name.

In August 2009, Tanaka and her husband joined the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

In September 2009 she became the Diet chairperson of the Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In September 2011 she became the Diet chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

On October 1, 2012, she became Minister of Education, Culture, Science, Sports, and Technology, as part of a reshuffle of the Yoshihiko Noda Cabinet.

On November 2, 2012 she denied applications for three new universities, contradicting a report the previous day that had endorsed the establishment of the universities. It had been 30 years since a minister had contradicted the ministry in such a way. This sparked a large amount of criticism and after pressure from within the DPJ she reversed her decision and approved the applications.

She lost her seat in the December 16, 2012 general election. She left office on 26 December 2012.

Publications

• (Japanese) (with English abstract) Tanaka, Makiko. "The English Language Development Program of the Los Angeles Unified School District : Implications for Elementary School English Education in Japan." (カリフォルニア州ロサンゼルス統一学区における英語教育の試みと日本における小学校英語教育への示唆, Archive) The Journal of Kanda University of International Studies (神田外語大学紀要). Kanda University of International Studies. 2009, Volume 21.
  • Info page (Archive) at CiNii

References

Political offices
Preceded by Mikio Ōmi	Minister of state, director-general of the Science and Technology Agency 1994–1995	Succeeded by Yasuoki Urano
Preceded by Yōhei Kōno	Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan 2001–2002	Succeeded by Junichiro Koizumi
Preceded by Takeshi Iwaya	Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2009–2011	Succeeded by Eiko Ishige
Preceded by Tadamasa Kodaira	Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs 2011–2012	Succeeded by Yoshikatsu Nakayama
Preceded by Hirofumi Hirano	Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2012	Succeeded by
House of Representatives of Japan
Preceded by Kichinosuke Meguro Hideo Watanabe Yukio Hoshino Shin Sakurai Tatsuo Murayama	Member of the House of Representatives from Niigata 3rd district (multi-member) 1993–1996 Served alongside: Yukio Hoshino, Shin Sakurai, Tomio Sakagami, Tatsuo Murayama	District eliminated
New district	Member of the House of Representatives from Niigata 5th district (single-member) 1996–2002 2003–present	Vacant Title next held by Yukio Hoshino
Preceded by Yukio Hoshino		Incumbent