Ritsuko Nagao (born circa 1934) is the first woman to serve as the Cabinet of Japan's

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a Ministry (government department), ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of ju ...

. In 1996, Nagao was appointed to the Cabinet of Japan as the Minister of Justice by

Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politic ...

, where she was the only woman and only appointee who was not a member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

already. Before her appointment as the Minister of Justice, she worked as a

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", ...

in the Health and Welfare Ministry.

References

External Resources

"Overview of social welfare services in Japan '94" - Report Nagao co-authored with the Japanese National Council of Social Welfare
Date of birth uncertain 1934 births Women government ministers of Japan 20th-century Japanese women politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians Ministers of Justice of Japan Female justice ministers Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians {{Japan-politician-1930s-stub