Noda Eyed as 1st Woman to Chair Japan Lower House Budget Panel

October 5, 2018

Tokyo- Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Seiko Noda is expected to become the first woman to chair the Budget Committee of Japan's House of Representatives, informed sources have said.

The ruling LDP has decided to nominate the former internal affairs minister for the top post of the prestigious committee of the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, the country's parliament, according to the sources.

The party will also nominate former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, another major female LDP lawmaker, as chair of the Lower House steering committee. So far, no woman has held the post of steering committee chairman at the lower or upper chamber in Japan.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has drawn criticism because his recently revamped cabinet has only one woman. The appointments may help ease the criticism.

When Abe came back as prime minister in 2012, he appointed Noda and Takaichi to chair the LDP's General Council and Policy Research Council, respectively. They were the first women to take up any of the ruling LDP's top posts.

Among Japanese female politicians, former National Public Safety Commission Chair Kiyoko Ono chaired the Budget Committee of the upper chamber, officially called the House of Councillors. Jiji Press