Keiko Chiba

Keiko Chiba
千葉景子

Chiba campaigning in Kawasaki, June 2010
Minister of Justice
In office
16 September 2009  17 September 2010
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
Naoto Kan
Preceded by Eisuke Mori
Succeeded by Minoru Yanagida
Personal details
Born (1948-05-11) 11 May 1948
Yokohama, Japan
Political party Democratic Party (1998–present)
Other political
affiliations
Socialist Party (Before 1996)
Social Democratic Party (1996–1997)
Alma mater Chuo University
Profession Lawyer

Keiko Chiba (千葉 景子 Chiba Keiko, born 11 May 1948) is the former justice minister of Japan.

Former career

After graduating from Chuo University in 1971, where she studied law, she became a lawyer in 1982. She belongs to the Yokohama Bar Association. As a lawyer, she was involved in a lawsuit filed by local residents over noise pollution caused by jets taking off and landing at the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture.[1] She also worked to protect the rights of women and seniors.[2]

Political career

Throughout her activity as lawyer, Chiba developed a relationship with Japan Socialist Party. In 1986 she was nominated as the official candidate of the party and elected to the House of Councillors for the first time. She held executive posts in the Japan Socialist Party and in its successor the Social Democratic Party, but she left the party to the Democratic Party of Japan in January 1997. Nevertheless, she has strengthened her footing with continuous support by All-Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers Union (JICHIRO) and Japanese Trade Union Confederation and took charge of the Director General of a parliament group supporting Amnesty International.[3]

At the 20th House of Councillors election Chiba ran for the Diet representing Kanagawa and was elected to the House of Councillors for the fourth time. In the course of election canvassing, two executives of the Kawasaki Municipal Transportation Workers Union were arrested because of their involvement in soliciting votes for Chiba for cash payment.[4] Both executives were sentenced to 1.5 years imprisonment with 5 years suspension execution. In the Next Cabinet Chiba served as Minister of State for Gender Equiality and as Minister of Justice.

After the 45th general election, she was appointed Minister of Justice in Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet on 16 September 2009. On 9 October 2009 Chiba granted special permission to two Chinese sisters who lost a lawsuit against a government deportation order.[5] She later enacted legislation to abolish the statute of limitations for murder and robbery-murder.[6]

She is a prominent member of various anti-death penalty organizations in Japan, and many legal analysts have criticized Chiba's appointment because of her position on the death penalty issue; in spite of this she signed orders for two executions which were carried out on 28 July 2010. Chiba has also expressed her intention to try to give "warm treatment" to illegal immigrants in Japan,[7] and she has also reportedly said that all illegal immigrants in Japan should be allowed to stay in Japan without any legal documentation.

Chiba was reappointed as justice minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan in June 2010.[8]

Chiba lost her seat in the House of Councillors on 11 July 2010, but Prime Minister Naoto Kan had kept her as the Minister of Justice until September. Her successor to the position was The Honorable Minoru Yanagida, who was appointed by Prime Minister Kan.

Activities

Manifesto

Policies

References

  1. Cabinet Who's Who: PROFILES OF HATOYAMA'S CABINET MEMBERS THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  2. Japan Times, "Cabinet Profiles: Kan's lineup", 9 June 2010, p. 4.
  3. Japan Times, "Cabinet Profiles: Kan's lineup", 9 June 2010, p. 4.
  4. 47News.jp (in Japanese)
  5. Chinese sisters given special permits to stay despite losing suit Japan Today
  6. Japan Times, "Cabinet Profiles: Kan's lineup", 9 June 2010, p. 4.
  7. Chiba lays out new justice policies Japan Times Online on 1 October 2009 by Minoru Matsutani
  8. Japan Times, "Cabinet Profiles: Kan's lineup", 9 June 2010, p. 4.
  9. Press Conference by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
  10. Japan-North Korea Relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, May 2004
  11. 国籍法改正案 採択 参議院法務委員会 音声とコメント上げてみた。 on YouTube (Japanese with English subtitles)
  12. Kamiya, Setsuko, and Jun Hongo, "Pair hanged; Chiba attends as witness", Japan Times, 29 July 2010, p. 1.
  13. RIGHTS-JAPAN: Get Cracking on Gender Equality
  14. Keiko Chiba opposes death penalty, favors dual surnames Japan Probe, 17 September 2009 by James

External links

House of Councillors
Preceded by
Akira Hatano
Councillor for Kanagawa's At-large district
1986–2010
Served alongside: Fumio Saito, Keiichiro Asao, Kimie Hatano, Akio Koizumi, Yoichi Kaneko
Succeeded by
Akio Koizumi
Preceded by
Shiro Takeda
Succeeded by
Kenji Nakanishi
Succeeded by
Yoichi Kaneko
Political offices
Preceded by
Eisuke Mori
Minister of Justice
2009–2010
Succeeded by
Minoru Yanagida


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.