Muraki Atsuko

Former vice-minister, Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Born in Kōchi Prefecture in 1955. In 1978, joined the Ministry of Labor (now the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare), where she focused on gender and family issues and the rights of the disabled. Wrongly arrested in connection with the so-called Postal Fraud Case in 2009, she was acquitted and reinstated, becoming the nation’s second female vice-minister in 2013. Since retiring in 2015, she has devoted herself to such causes as social inclusion and work-style reform while serving on several corporate boards. She is currently a visiting professor at Tsuda University.