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Renho could enter Japan¡¦s Cabinet
STAFF WRITER
Monday, Jun 07, 2010, Page 3
Murata Renho, born as Hsieh Lien-fang to a
Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, smiles in this photo taken on April 14.
Renho is expected to become a member of Japan¡¦s new Cabinet.
PHOTO: CNA
Upper House member of the Japanese Diet, Murata Renho ¡X more commonly known as
Ren Ho ¡X looks set to become the first Japanese government minister of Taiwanese
descent, following reports in the Japanese media that she has been picked by
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to serve in his first Cabinet.
Born as Hsieh Lien-fang (Á½¬¯é) to a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother in
Tokyo in 1967, Ren Ho became a naturalized citizen of Japan at the age of 18 and
received a law degree from Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo in 1990.
Japanese media have reported that Ho is likely to take the position of Kan¡¦s
chief Cabinet secretary.
In the 1990s, Ren Ho studied Chinese at Beijing University. During her stay in
China, she would defend Taiwan and Japan whenever her professors made negative
remarks.
Before being elected a member of the Diet in 2004, Ren Ho was in the
entertainment business and a journalist.
She has also been an active campaigner for fellow Democratic Party of Japan
politicians.
As a member of the Diet, Ren Ho performed well during budget reviews and is also
known as a diligent politician who spends much of her time researching different
social issues. As a mother of two, she has also demonstrated a particular
interest in the decline of childbirth in Japanese society.
Ren Ho is also active in the Taiwanese community in Japan.
In May last year, she, her brother and mother took part in an event to promote
fruit from Taiwan in Japan, organized by Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang
Chiu-hsing (·¨¬î¿³). At the event, Ren Ho spoke briefly in Mandarin, saying she has
a particular affinity for fruit from Taiwan because her father, a native of
Tainan County, was an exporter of Taiwanese bananas to Japan.
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