Yuriko Koike, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan, was named Japan's first - ever female Defense Ministry. Earlier she had held two other cabinet posts - Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for National Security Affairs in 2006 and Minister of the Environment in 2003. Taking advantage of such experiences, she is generously working on foreign, security affairs and environmental issues as a leader in those fields. Her achievements are acknowledged by people of the same fileds both at home and abroad.

Ms. Koike began her career in politics in 1992 when she was elected to the House of Councillors - the upper house of the Japanese Diet - as one of the charter members of newly founded Japan New Party (JNP), led by Mr. Morihiro Hosokawa.

In 1993, she ran for the House of Representatives from the Hyogo Prefecture's Second District and won. That year's World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland, chose her as one of two hundred leaders of tomorrow. After the JNP was merged into the newly formed New Frontier Party (NFP), Ms. Koike was appointed as Assistant Secretary - General of the NFP, as well as director of the leading opposition party's international affairs bureau.

In 1996, she was reelected as a member of the House of Representatives. When the NFP was dismantled, Ms.Koike joined the Liberal Party headed by Mr.Ichiro Ozawa.

In April 2000, Ms. Koike left the Liberal Party to become one of the founding members of the New Conservative Party under the leadership Ms. Chikage Ogi. In June of 2000, Ms. Koike was reelected from Hyogo Prefecture's Sixth District to the House of Representatives.

In January 2003, she became a member of the Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry and the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In September of 2003, she was appointed as Minister of the Environment and Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems during the Second Reshuffled First Koizumi Cabinet. In November 2003, she was reelected as a member of the House of Representatives. She was appointed again as Minister of the Environment and Minister in Charge of Global Environment Problems during the Second Koizumi Cabinet.

In September of 2004, she was appointed as Minister of the Environment, Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems as well as Minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs during the Reshuffled Second Koizumi Cabinet.

In September 2005, she reelected to the House of Representatives. She was reappointed as Minister of the Environment, Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs during the Third Koizumi Cabinet. In October of 2005 she was reappointed as Minister of the Environment, Minister in Charge of Global Environmental Problems and Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs during the Reshuffled Third Koizumi Cabinet.

In September 2006, she was appointed as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for National Security Affairs in the First Abe Cabinet. Furthermore, in this year, she served on the Standing Committee on Finance and the Standing Committee of Health & Welfare. She also served as the Vice Chair of the New Conservative Party's Policy Planning Committee.

In addition, Ms. Koike held various positions during her public service. She served as the State Secretary for Economic Planning during the Obuchi cabinent (1998 - 2000). During the Hosokawa cabinet (1993 - 1994), she served as Vice Minister of the Management and Coordination Agency and was in charge of administrative reform and deregulation.

Ms. Koike began her career as an interpreter and translator of Arabic but subsequently moved into broadcast journalism. She has served as anchorperson on a number of programs specializing in business and current affairs, including "Current Issues" of Nippon TV, and TV Tokyo's programs "Money Information" and "Top Business Executive". In 1990, Ms. Koike was awarded the SJ Prize and acknowledged as the first Japanese anchorwoman on business - related programs, especially on her major program "World Business Satellite". That same year she received the ATP Prize for her reports on the Gulf War.
Ms. Koike graduated from Egypt's Cairo University in 1976 with a bachelor's degree in Sociology. Prior to her program at the Cairo University, she had studied Arabic for a year at the American University of Cairo. Before leaving Japan for Egypt in 1971, she matriculated from Kwansei Gakuin University in Hyogo. She was born in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture on July 15th, 1952.

Ms. Koike has also written a number of books and magazine serials on Japanese politics, international affairs, and on career women's networking, such as “Koike’s Concept Note”, “Woman’s mission: My 55 days in Ichigaya” and so on. Her longest selling book is "Arabic Conversation". She speaks Arabic, English and Japanese.