Kazuko Yokoo

Kazuko Yokoo (横尾 和子 Yokoo Kazuko, born April 14, 1941[1]) is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Japan.[2] She was the second woman in history to serve in that role.[3]

She attended International Christian University and became a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Health and Welfare after graduation.[3][4] She was appointed as head of Japan's social insurance system in 1994, and as ambassador to the Republic of Ireland in 1998. In 2001, she was appointed to the Supreme Court.[5]

In September 2008, Yokoo resigned two years and seven months prior to the mandatory retirement age of 70. Ryuko Sakurai replaced Yokoo.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "YOKOO, Kazuko" at the Wayback Machine (archived October 5, 2007). Supreme Court of Japan. October 5, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Justices of the Supreme Court." Supreme Court of Japan. Accessed November 2, 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Second Woman in Japan Supreme Court." Associated Press. December 18, 2001.
  4. ↑ "The status of women in Japan: a new overview." WIN News. March 22, 1995.
  5. ↑ "As newest appointee shows, job on Japan's Supreme Court doesn't require law degree." Associated Press. December 21, 2001.
  6. ↑ "Sakurai to be Supreme Court justice." Japan Today. September 7, 2008.