Utako Takeuchi

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Utako Takeuchi (竹内歌子) was a Japanese journalist and politician born on December 15, 1915, in Ushimado, Okayama. She was one of the first group of women elected to Japan’s House of Representatives in 1946. Takeuchi studied at Sanyo High School, worked as a reporter for Miyako Shinbun, and later for Kokusai Tsushinsha. In 1942 she became headmistress of the First Tokyo Girls Dress-Designing School, and in 1944 she joined the board of directors of Oji Sangyo, later becoming president of Boso Sangyo in 1946. After World War II she joined the New Japan Youth Party and led its women’s section. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 from the Chiba at-large district. She served from April 10, 1946, to March 31, 1947, and in 1947 ran for re-election as a Democratic Party candidate in Saitama’s 1st district but did not win.