Mieko Yoshimura

Mieko Yoshimura is governor of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. She was elected on January 25, 2009. She defeated the sitting governor of Yamagata Prefecture, Hiroshi Saitō in an upset. A native of Ōe, Yamagata, she worked at a help-wanted advertising company before becoming a notary public for the city government of Yamagata. She soon became a member of Yamagata Prefecture's Education Committee before running for governor in 2008. She is Yamagata's first female governor and the sixth in Japanese history.