Mayumi MORIYAMA Member of the House of Representatives of Japan, former Minister of Justice (Japan) Mayumi Moriyama was first elected to the House of Representatives in Japan in 1996. Currently, she is still an active member of the House since she has been re-elected three times for the position. She started out her remarkable political career in 1950 when she entered the Ministry of Labor in which after 24 years, she became the Director-General of the Women’s and Young Workers’ Bureau(1974-80). She led a very intense career, elected as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1984 while being a member of the House of Councillors for 16 years (she was re-elected twice). This is when she started to shift her focus into foreign affairs for a while. In 1985, she was Head of the Japanese Delegation to the United Nation’s World Conference for the Women’s Decade, and in 1987 she was the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Councillors. In 2001, her focus shifted yet again when she became the Minister of Justice for two years. During years 2003-2006, she has continually served as Chairperson for numerous committees including the Judge Indictment Committee of the House of Representatives and the Party Ethics Committee. Other than political positions, she was also the President of the Japan Camera Industry Institute, the Ozaki Yukio Memorial Foundation and the Hakuoh University. Born in 1927, she is the mother of two daughters, enjoys playing golf, flower arranging, calligraphy and photography. She has also authored numerous books.