The World Press Review - People

Makiko Tanaka: Plainspoken Politician

Sarah Coleman

When Junichiro Koizumi was sworn in as Japan's prime minister in April, one of his most daring acts was to name Makiko Tanaka as his foreign minister—Japan's first woman to hold the post. The daughter of former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, "Maki" is known for her casual dress and blunt manner. In the past, she has been voted Japan's most popular politician, and her support for Koizumi was a key factor in his victory.

But Tanaka has critics too, who question whether she's up to the job of
foreign minister. In the past, her outspokenness has brought her censure as well as praise. Last year, she was disciplined after referring to the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi as a "dead duck"and "the king of debt." Other political colleagues have received culinary put-downs: One party loyalist was described as "a bean-jam-filled wafer"; another as "a glasses-wearing cherry."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tanaka began her new job by addressing a recent
controversy: the publication of a new textbook that drew criticism from China and South Korea for the way it glossed over Japan's wartime history. Her statement that "some people were trying to distort historical facts" won widespead approval—raising hopes that this unconventional politician will provide an effective new voice for Japan.