Junko Mihara
Quick Facts
Biography
Junko Mihara (三原 じゅん子, Mihara Junko, born 13 September 1964) is a Japanese politician, former singer, and actress.
Entertainment career
Mihara made her debut as a teenager in the 1979 television series Kinpachi-sensei, and began a singing career in 1980. Her first hit sold more than 300,000 copies.
Mihara underwent treatment for cervical cancer later in her life, and established a nursing home in March 2010 prior to her political debut.
Political career
Mihara ran in the House of Councillors election in July 2010 as a proportional candidate of the Liberal Democratic Party and won, campaigning on her experience with women's health issues. She first appeared in the Diet on 30 July 2010. She was elected to a seat representing the Kanagawa at-large district in the July 2016 election.
Positions within the LDP:
- Deputy Director, Health, Labor and Welfare Division of LDP
- Deputy chairman, Committee on Organizations Involved with Labor of LDP
- Acting Director, Public Speeches Division of LDP
- Vice-Chairman, Committee on Organizations Involved with Health and Welfare of LDP
Controversies
Mihara is in favor of visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.
In March 2015, when speaking about dealing with tax evasion she urged Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to promote hakkō ichiu, a slogan meaning "the world under one roof", meaning the world united under the Japanese empire.
