Masa Nakayama
Masa Nakayama (中山 マサ, Nakayama Masa, January 19, 1891 – October 11, 1976) was a Japanese politician, who was the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of Japan when she became Minister of Health and Welfare in 1960.[1]
Masa Nakayama | |
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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 85) Osaka, Japan | (aged
Nationality | Japanese |
Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
Spouse(s) | Fukuzō Nakayama |
Children | Taro Nakayama Masaaki Nakayama |
Alma mater | Ohio Wesleyan University |
She was born Masa Iida-Powers in Nagasaki, the daughter of Rodney H. Powers, an American businessman, and his Japanese partner, Naka Iida. Masa attended Kwassui Jogakko, a mission school run by American Methodist missionaries. She also studied at Ohio Wesleyan University in the United States,[2] graduating in 1916 and starting a distinguished career in education prior to the outbreak of World War II.[3]
In 1947, she was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet, representing the second district of Osaka Prefecture[4] for the LDP[5] as part of Hayato Ikeda's government.[6] In 1960, she became the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of Japan when she was made Minister of Health and Welfare. She served as a minister for five months, stepping down in December 1960. Nakayama retired from the Diet in 1969, and was succeeded in her seat by her son, Masaaki.[4]
She was married to Fukuzō Nakayama, who was also a politician and served in the lower house from 1932 to 1942, and later in the upper house.[4] Their sons are Representative Taro Nakayama and Representative Masaaki Nakayama. Representative Yasuhide Nakayama is their grandson and Masaaki's son.
Nakayama died of throat cancer at an Osaka hospital on October 11, 1976, aged 85.[7]
References
- International Women's Democracy Center Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- 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.
- Imamura, Anne E. (1996). Re-imaging Japanese women. University of California Press. p. 276. ISBN 0-520-20263-5.
- Abortion Before Birth Control By Tiana Norgren, Christiana A. E. Norgren; pg 89
- The Clash: A History of U.S.-Japan Relations by Walter LaFeber, pg 322
- "First". Lakeland Ledger. October 12, 1976. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Yoshio Watanabe |
Minister of Health and Welfare 1960 |
Succeeded by Kimi Furui |