is a Japanese politician and former singer, actress, and racing driver. She is a member of the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Entertainment career

Mihara made her debut as a teenager in the 1979 television series '' Kinpachi-sensei'', and began a singing career in 1980. Her first hit sold more than 300,000 copies. In 1987, she began competing in auto racing. Mihara drove a

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly Subcompact car, subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has bee ...

in the

Japanese Touring Car Championship The Japanese Touring Car Championship (abbr: 1985–1993: JTC, 1994–1998: JTCC, officially known as All Japan Touring Car Championship, ) was a former touring car racing series held in Japan. The series was held under various regulations during ...

from 1990 to 1991, sharing the car with her husband Masahiro Matsunaga and

Shinichi Yamaji was a Japanese race car driver. He formerly raced in the Japanese Grand Touring Championship, currently known as Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred t ...

. From 1992 to 1995, she raced in the

Spa 24 Hours The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

in Belgium, followed by the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship with Kumi Sato in 1996 and 1997; Mihara and Sato were co-drivers in the 1995 Spa 24 Hours. In 1998, she and Sato participated in the American Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race at the

Grand Prix of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. It was the premier race on the CART/Champ Car Worl ...

. Mihara remained involved in racing—particularly the JGTC's successor

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of ...

—after entering politics, serving as the secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party's Parliamentary League for Motorsports. Mihara underwent treatment for

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...

later in her life, and established a nursing home in March 2010 prior to her political debut.

Political career

Mihara ran in the House of Councillors election in July 2010 as a proportional candidate of the

and won, campaigning on her experience with women's health issues. She first appeared in the Diet on 30 July 2010. She was elected to a seat representing the Kanagawa at-large district in the July 2016 election. Positions within the LDP: *Deputy Director, Health, Labor and Welfare Division of LDP *Deputy chairman, Committee on Organizations Involved with Labor of LDP *Acting Director, Public Speeches Division of LDP *Vice-Chairman, Committee on Organizations Involved with Health and Welfare of LDP

Controversies

Mihara is in favor of visits to the

controversial Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opp ...

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

. In March 2015, when speaking about dealing with

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

she urged Prime Minister

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe (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 2020. He was the longest-serving pri ...

to promote ''

hakkō ichiu or (: , ) was a Japanese political slogan meaning the divine right of the Empire of Japan to "World domination, unify the eight corners of the world." The slogan formed the basis of the empire's ideology. It was prominent from the Second Sin ...

'', a slogan meaning "the world under one roof". Although it is controversial as it was used during the WW2 for patriotism, she explained it as "an ethic which Japan has valued since its genesis". It is true that ''hakkō ichiu'' has long history and its first appearance is in "''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

''", the second oldest history book in Japan.

References

External links

Official site (in Japanese)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihara, Junko 1964 births People from Itabashi Living people Japanese actor-politicians Women members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Actresses from Tokyo Politicians from Tokyo Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Singers from Tokyo Japanese sportsperson-politicians Japanese female racing drivers Japanese Touring Car Championship drivers TOM'S drivers Japanese racing drivers Sportspeople from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese sportswomen