Masa Nakayama (中山 マサ, Nakayama Masa, January 19, 1891 – October 11, 1976) was a Japanese politician and educator who was the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of Japan when she became Minister of Health and Welfare in 1960.[1]
Masa Nakayama | |
|---|---|
中山 マサ | |
 Masa Nakayama in 1952 | |
| Minister of Health and Welfare | |
| In office 19 July 1960 – 8 December 1960 | |
| Prime Minister | Hayato Ikeda |
| Preceded by | Yoshio Watanabe |
| Succeeded by | Kimi Furui |
| Constituency | Osaka Prefecture, 2nd district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Masa Iida-Powers January 19, 1891 Nagasaki, Japan |
| Died | October 11, 1976 (aged 85) Osaka, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Fukuzō Nakayama |
| Children | Taro Nakayama Masaaki Nakayama |
| Alma mater | Ohio Wesleyan University |
Early life and education
editNakayama was born Masa Iida-Powers in Nagasaki, the daughter of Rodney H. Powers, an American businessman who had settled in Nagasaki in the 1860s, and his Japanese partner, Naka Iida. Masa attended Kwassui Jogakko, a mission school run by American Methodist missionaries. In 1911, she moved to the United States where she enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan University,[2] graduating in 1916. Returning to Japan, she had a distinguished career as a high school and college educator prior to the outbreak of World War II.[3] In 1923, Nakayama married Fukuzō Nakayama, a lawyer and politician who served in the lower house from 1932 to 1942, and later in the upper house after World War II.[4]
Political career
editIn 1947, she was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, representing the second district of Osaka Prefecture.[4] In 1960, she became the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of Japan when she was appointed Minister of Health and Welfare by Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda.[1] She served as a minister for five months, stepping down in December 1960.
Later life and death
editNakayama retired from the Diet in 1969, and was succeeded in her seat by her son, Masaaki.[4] Nakayama died of throat cancer at an Osaka hospital on October 11, 1976, aged 85.[5]
Family and descendants
editNakayama and her husband had two sons who also went into national politics: Representative Taro Nakayama and Representative Masaaki Nakayama. Representative Yasuhide Nakayama is her grandson and Masaaki's son.
References
edit- ^ a b Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0674984424.
- ^ Oura Biographies: Rodney H. Powers, Nagasaki Foreign Settlement Research Group, Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science, June 8, 2006.
- ^ Ramsdell, Daniel B. (1992). The Japanese Diet: stability and change in the Japanese House of Representatives, 1890–1990. University Press of America. p. 181. ISBN 0-8191-8494-2.
- ^ a b c Imamura, Anne E. (1996). Re-imaging Japanese women. University of California Press. p. 276. ISBN 0-520-20263-5.
- ^ "First". Lakeland Ledger. October 12, 1976. Retrieved November 18, 2012.