Jun Mukōyama

Jun Mukōyama
向山 淳
Official portrait, 2025
Member of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 1, 2024
Preceded byMulti-member district
ConstituencyHokkaido PR (2024–2026)
Hokkaido 8th (2026–present)
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 22, 2025
Personal details
Born (1983-11-19) November 19, 1983
Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
PartyLiberal Democratic
Spouse(s)Satoshi Mukōyama (Director and Executive Officer of Luup)[1][2]
Children1
Alma materBachelor's in Political Science Keio University
Master's in Public Administration Harvard University
OccupationBusinesswoman and Politician
WebsiteOfficial Website
Nickname(s)Mukojun
Jun-chan

Jun Mukōyama[a] (向山淳 and むこうやま じゅん), nicknames: "Mukojun, Jun-chan", (born November 19, 1983) is a Japanese politician. She is a member of the House of Representatives and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications.

Early life

She was born in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture on November 19, 1983. Due to her father's work, she lived in Peru from the age of 2 to 4, the United States from the age of 11 to 14 , and Argentina from the age of 14 to 15, before graduating from junior high school.[2] After graduating from Keio Girls' High School, she went on to study and graduate from the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law, Keio University.[2]

Mukōyama currently lives in Hakodate with her husband, Satoshi Mukōyama, and their daughter.[2][3] She states that she loves street dancing and walking around town (taking photos, eating).[2] On her YouTube channel and other social media accounts, she uses her nickname "Mukojun".[4]

Career

She worked for Mitsubishi Corporation for 13 years,[2] primarily in the internet payment business and infrastructure investments in power and ports. She married her colleague, Satoshi Mukōyama, a native of Hokkaido, and was stationed in Toronto, Canada. She and Satoshi say right beside each other at Mitsubishi. While in Canada, she served as General Manager of the Infrastructure Finance Department at Mitsubishi Corporation Canada and was traferred to the Strategic Investment Department of OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System). At OMERS she was involved in infrastructure investments in power plants, ports, highways, and other areas in Europe, the United States, and Australia, as well as corporate revitalization investments for small and medium-sized enterprises.[5] After that, when her husband was transferred, she left her job and focused on trying to conceive as a housewife, but struggled with infertility.[2] This experience motivated her to pursue a career in politics. She decided to study abroad to learn about policy, and upon receiving her acceptance letter, she discovered she was pregnant. She received a scholarship from the Kamiyama Foundation and, together with her newborn daughter, she studied at John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University at her own expense.[6] Satoshi is now an executie at Luup, a street bike rental company.[1][2]

After graduating, she participated in the COVID-19 Private Temporary Investigation Committee as a Senior Visiting Researcher at the Asia Pacific Initiative,[2][6] and also served as a member of the Web3PT Working Group of the Liberal Democratic Party ’s Digital Society Promotion Headquarters,[7] a founder of a group of parents considering how to balance work and childcare during the COVID-19 crisis, and the representative of Mukaiyama Policy Lab.[8]

Due to the executive's policy to increase the proportion of women in proportional representation districts to 30 percent for the 26th regular election for the House of Councillors in July 2022, she quickly received the Liberal Democratic Party's endorsement and ran for office six weeks before the election was announced, but she only managed to win 20,638 votes and was defeated.[9]

She then applied for the next House of Representatives election in Hakodate, where her husband's family lives, and became the head of the Liberal Democratic Party's Hokkaido 8th District branch in July 2023. In April 2024, Hajime Nomata, former chairman of the Nomata Gakuen educational corporation, became chairman of the "Mukaiyama Jun United Supporters Association."[10]

On October 15, 2024, the 50th general election for the House of Representatives was announced, with three candidates running in Hokkaido's 8th district: Mukaiyama, Seiji Osaka, the incumbent Constitutional Democratic Party member, and Katsumi Homma, a former Hakodate City Council member and newcomer to the Japanese Communist Party. Osaka was not included on the proportional representation list.[11] On October 25, the Yomiuri Shimbun announced the final results, reporting that "Mukaiyama has caught up with Osaka, who had been in the lead, making the race close."[12] The general election was held on October 27. Just after the voting closed at 8 p.m.,[13] Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting reported that Osaka had been declared the winner.[14] Osaka was elected for a sixth term. The Liberal Democratic Party won three seats in the Hokkaido proportional representation block . Of the two seats, excluding Yoshitaka Ito , who was in sole first place, Mukōyama won her first election with the second-lowest margin of defeat (84.909 percent).[15][16]

On September 5, 2025, she signed and stamped a document confirming her intention to bring forward the presidential election.[17] On October 22 of the same year, she was appointed Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications in the Takaichi Cabinet.[18]

Political positions

Mukōyama focuses on promoting Hokkaido—which she feels does not get the appropriate level of attention from the national government, the working class, natural resources, and reversing the population decline.[3]

Like the majority of representatives in her party, Mukōyama also believes that nuclear energy is necessary for Japan's energy needs at present, even though nuclear weapons should not be considered. Furthermore, she advocates for a revision of Japan's anti-militarist Constitution.[19]

On the international stage, Mukōyama declared herself in favor of tightening the sanctions imposed on Russia, following the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.[19]

Unlike other members of the LDP, Mukōyama supports attempts to change the Japanese law that requires spouses to share the same surname.[19] She also supports the establishment of a quota system for women in Japanese political life, in order to promote their access to high-level positions, as well as the recognition of same-sex marriage in Japan.[19] She opposes the continued presence of women in the Japanese imperial family after marriage, as well as the ascension of a woman to the Chrysanthemum Throne.[19]

On December 8, 2024, she appeared as a new member of the Liberal Democratic Party on NHK's Sunday Debate program "Questioning New Diet Members: What Politics and Society Should They Aim for?"[20][21] She discussed political activities on social media, political funding issues, how to deal with the current generation, and parliamentary debates as a minority ruling party.[20][21]

Controversies

Upon her election, and during her first entry into the National Diet, Mukōyama took a photo of another new female Diet member, Kaoru Fukuda inside the building, creating controversy. This is prohibited by the internal regulations as the rule "Members of the House shall respect the dignity of the House" is interpreted as prohibiting Diet members from taking photographs in the chamber;[22][23][24] despite the fact that TV cameras are allowed. The LDP issued both of them stern warnings.[1][25][26] Mukōyama and Fukuda both apologized on Twitter.[22][27] There was considerable debate about the dichotomy of this rule and the use of social media in politics.[28]

Mukōyama is also the target of criticism after it was discovered that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a gift check to all newly elected LDP members following the snap elections of October 2024. She nevertheless announced that she returned the check immediately upon receipt.[29][30]

Elections

Book

  • (co-authors) Asia Pacific Initiative Foundation; Mukōyama, Jun (October 2020). 新型コロナ対応・民間臨時調査会 調査・検証報告書 [COVID-19 Response: Private Temporary Investigation Committee Investigation and Verification Report] (in Japanese). Chiyoda ward, Tokyo: Discover 21. ISBN 9784799326800.

Notes

  1. ^ Her surname is also spelled Mukaiyama, which comes from the kanji version of her name (向山淳). This article uses the kana version of her name, Mukōyama (むこうやま じゅん).

References

  1. ^ a b c "「修学旅行気分ですか」自民党・新人女性ペアが議会で"禁止行為"→批判殺到し謝罪「お詫び申し上げます」" ["Are you in the mood for a school trip?" A pair of new female LDP members engage in "prohibited behavior" in parliament → Apologize after receiving a flood of criticism "We apologize"]. Josei Jishin (in Japanese). November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "向山 潤 公式サイト- 自民党衆議院北海道第8選挙区支部 ちえ" [Jun Mukaiyama Official Website- LDP House of Representatives Hokkaido 8th Electoral District Branch Chief] (in Japanese). House of Representatives. Archived from the original on November 7, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "「ともに未来へ」道南新時代へ挑戦 北海道８区・向山じゅん候補（40歳）" ["Together towards the future" - Hokkaido 8th District candidate Jun Mukaiyama (40 years old) challenges the new era of southern Hokkaido]. Jimin News (in Japanese). October 20, 2024. Archived from the original on July 25, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "【むこじゅんチャンネル】向山じゅん" [[Mukojun Channel] Jun Mukaiyama] (in Japanese). YouTube. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  5. ^ "【新渡戸フェローとの対談】#2「イギリスの行政改革に学ぶ」（廣瀬克哉×向山淳）" [[Conversation with Nitobe Fellows] #2 "Learning from Administrative Reform in the UK" (Katsuya Hirose and Jun Mukaiyama)] (in Japanese). International House of Japan. Archived from the original on August 10, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "公共政策で日本に変革を 向山 淳（Jun Mukoyama）" [Transforming Japan through Public Policy (Jun Mukoyama)] (in Japanese). Kamiyama Foundation. Archived from the original on November 8, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "自民党web3ホワイトペーパー。Japan is back, Again" [LDP web3 White Paper, Japan is back, again] (in Japanese). Akihisa Shiozaki, House of Representatives. April 6, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  8. ^ "コロナ危機下の育児と仕事の両立を考える保護者有志の会" [A volunteer group of parents considering balancing work and childcare during the COVID-19 crisis] (in Japanese). Macojun, House of Representatives. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  9. ^ "自民党比例代表候補者調査" [LDP Proportional Representation Candidate Survey]. NHK One (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  10. ^ "向山 潤 衆議院議員" [Jun Mukōyama, House of Representatives] (in Japanese). April 27, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  11. ^ "北海道" [Hokkaido]. House of Representatives Election 2024 Special Site - NHK (in Japanese). October 28, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  12. ^ "「衆院選 注目選挙区の終盤情勢" [House of Representatives Election: Final Situation in Key Electoral Districts]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). October 25, 2024. pp. 10–13.
  13. ^ "＜衆院選・詳報＞全議席確定　大敗の自民191議席、立民は148議席　国民、れいわは大幅議席増" [House of Representatives Election - Detailed Report, All seats confirmed: LDP suffers major defeat with 191 seats, CDP with 148 seats; People's Party and Reiwa Party significantly increase their seats]. Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). October 28, 2024. Archived from the original on December 17, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  14. ^ "衆議院議員選挙　北海道8区　立憲民主党・逢坂誠二氏が当選確実" [House of Representatives Election: Seiji Osaka of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is certain to win in Hokkaido's 8th district] (in Japanese). Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting. October 27, 2024. Archived from the original on August 5, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  15. ^ "北海道ブロック 自由民主党" [Hokkaido Block Liberal Democratic Party]. NHK (in Japanese). October 28, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "比例代表 北海道 衆議院選挙 最新ニュース" [Latest news on the Hokkaido proportional representation House of Representatives electio]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 2024. Archived from the original on December 27, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  17. ^ "向山淳議員「自民党が見放されてしまう」…自民党内で高まる「石破おろし」の声　北海道でも" [Mukaiyama Jun: "The LDP will be abandoned"... Voices calling for Ishiba's downfall grow within the LDP, even in Hokkaido]. HTB News (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 9, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  18. ^ Sekiguchi, Jun (October 22, 2025). "文科副大臣に中村氏　財務政務官に高橋氏　総務政務官に向山氏" [Mr. Nakamura was appointed as Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Mr. Takahashi was appointed as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Finance, and Mr. Mukaiyama was appointed as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications]. Hokkaido Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 31, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c d e "向山　淳（38）" [Jun Mukaiyama (38)]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  20. ^ a b "日曜討論 - 新人議員に問う 目指す政治・社会は" [Sunday Debate - Asking new lawmakers what politics and society they aspire to]. NHK (in Japanese). December 8, 2024. Archived from the original on November 18, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "初当選の衆院議員 選挙のSNS活用など議論" [First-time elected House of Representatives member discusses use of social media in elections]. Datazoo (in Japanese). December 8, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "自民党の新人議員が本会議場内で写真撮影し、Xで釈明「禁止されていることを知らずに…」" [A new member of the Liberal Democratic Party took a photo inside the assembly hall and explained, "I didn't know it was prohibited..."]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  23. ^ "自民の初当選議員2人、議場でスマホ撮影　党幹部が口頭注意" [Two first-time LDP lawmakers verbally reprimanded by party leader for taking photos with smartphones in the assembly hall]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  24. ^ "自民、新人2議員厳重注意　衆院本会議場で撮影" [LDP issues stern warning to two new lawmakers for photo taken in House of Representatives plenary session]. Nikkei (in Japanese). November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  25. ^ "自民、新人2議員厳重注意　衆院本会議場で写真撮影" [Two new LDP lawmakers given a stern warning for taking photographs in the House of Representatives plenary session]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  26. ^ "自民の新人議員２人、本会議場でのスマホ撮影で厳重注意…「禁止されていることを知らなかった」" [Two new LDP lawmakers given a stern warning for taking photos with their smartphones in the assembly hall... "I didn't know it was prohibited"]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  27. ^ "自民、新人2議員厳重注意　衆院本会議場で撮影" [LDP issues stern warning to two new lawmakers for photo taken in House of Representatives plenary session]. Nikkei (in Japanese). November 13, 2024. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  28. ^ "日曜討論 衆院選で初当選の議員 選挙でのSNS活用など議論" [Sunday Debate: First-time elected members of the House of Representatives discuss the use of social media in elections]. NHK One (in Japanese). December 8, 2024. Archived from the original on November 18, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  29. ^ "自民新人41歳女性議員、石破氏商品券の経緯説明も「なぜ黙ってた？」「返せば済むのか？」Ｘの声" [A 41-year-old female LDP lawmaker, a newcomer, asks, "Why did you keep quiet?" and "Wouldn't it be okay if you just returned the gift certificates?" despite Ishiba's explanation of the circumstances surrounding the gift certificates] (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports - General News. March 14, 2025. Archived from the original on April 10, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  30. ^ "会食参加の１期生　「適切でなく返却」" [First-year student who attended the dinner said it was inappropriate and returned the item]. Fukui Shimbun (in Japanese). March 15, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
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