Yūko Obuchi

Yuuko Obuchi
小渕 優子
Member of the Japanese Parliament for Gunma 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 2000
Preceded by	Keizō Obuchi
Personal details
Born	December 11, 1973 Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	Seijo University

Yuuko Obuchi (小渕 優子 Obuchi Yūko, born December 11, 1973 in Bunkyō, Tokyo) is a Japanese politician. She is a member of the House of Representatives for the Liberal Democratic Party. She briefly served as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry during the Abe Government, but was forced to resign.

A graduate of Seijo University which has produced many actors and television personalities, Obuchi worked at the broadcaster TBS from 1996 to 1998. She was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 2000, winning her father's former Diet seat when he died shortly after suffering a stroke while in office. Her father is former prime minister Keizō Obuchi and her grandfather former member of the House of Representatives Mitsuhei Obuchi.

On September 24, 2008, Obuchi and Shinjirō Koizumi was appointed Minister of State for Social Affairs and Gender Equality in the cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso. This made her Japan's youngest cabinet member in the post-war era.^[1] Her party was out of office from September, 2009 until December 2012. In December 2012, she was appointed Vice Minister of Finance by the new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and on 3 September 2014, she was made Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in Abe's cabinet.^[2] As such, she became the minister responsible for the nuclear industry in Japan, with partial responsibility for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster clean-up.

Resignation

Obuchi resigned from her position as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on October 19, 2014, amid allegations of abuse of donation funds.^[3] Her departure has been seen as a blow to the Shinzo Abe administration.^[4]

References

1. "Aso elected premier / Announces Cabinet lineup himself; poll likely on Nov. 2", The Yomiuri Shimbun, 25 September 2008.
2. "‘Daddy’s girl’ Obuchi to oversee nuclear industry", The Japan Times, 4 September 2014.
3. "Japan ministers Yuko Obuchi and Midori Matsushima quit". BBC News.
4. "In blow to Abe, Japan trade minister to resign over funds scandal - media". Reuters UK.

External links

• Official website (Japanese)