Yuko Kishida (, ''Kishida Yūko''; Wada; born 15 August 1964) is the

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

of the former

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

Fumio Kishida Fumio Kishida (born 29 July 1957) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2021 to 2024. He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet ...

Biography

Kishida was born in Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, as the eldest daughter of Kunijirō Wada, a real estate company owner. She attended Hiroshima Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School, an integrated junior and senior high school. After graduating from high school, she attended Tokyo Women's Christian University to study

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japa ...

. She joined

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

to work as secretary of vice president Yoshihiro Wada in 1987 after graduating from TWCU. She married

in 1988 and has three sons with him. On 4 October 2021, she became the First Lady of Japan because her husband became the 100th

after winning the

2021 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election The 2021 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election was held on 29 September 2021 to elect the next President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and Prime Minister of Japan. Fumio Kish ...

Solo visit to the United States

On 17 April 2023, Yuko Kishida traveled solo to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the invitation of the First Lady,

Jill Biden Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (née Jacobs; born June 3, 1951) is an American educator who served as the first lady of the United States from 2021 to 2025 as the wife of President Joe Biden. She was second lady of the United States from 2009 to 20 ...

, making her the first spouse of a Japanese Prime Minister to have made a solo visit to the United States. During her visit, Kishida and Jill Biden planted a

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

tree within the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

grounds as a symbol of the enduring friendship between the United States and Japan. Before the planting ceremony, Jill Biden gave Kishida a tour of the White House, including the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval room has three lar ...

, where she had the opportunity to briefly converse with

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. Kishida also visited

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, a distinguished historically Black university in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

There, she engaged with students who were studying

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

References

External links

* 1964 births Living people Spouses of prime ministers of Japan People from Hiroshima Prefecture Tokyo Woman's Christian University alumni Fumio Kishida {{Japan-bio-stub