OSAKA — New Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, 54, is a world traveler fluent in Arabic and English and considered one of the Diet's leading experts on the Middle East.
A participant at the prestigious World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and in the U.S.-Japan Legislative Exchange Program, American media have dubbed her "Japan's Condi Rice" and those who follow Japanese politics wonder if she may become Japan's first female prime minister someday.
But if Koike has charmed many outside Japan with her style, linguistic abilities and knowledge of foreign affairs, she is a more controversial figure inside the country. Hawkish and conservative, Koike has long had close ties to powerful conservative political groups like the Japan Conference, which supports textbooks that whitewash Japan's historical record, denies or downplays the Nanking Massacre and "comfort women" (wartime sex slave) issues, and pushes education reforms that stress patriotism in schools.