Kato, Shizue Hirota

▪ 2002

      Japanese feminist and political leader (b. March 2, 1897, Tokyo, Japan—d. Dec. 22, 2001, Tokyo), began in the 1920s to campaign for women's rights and was the first woman to promote family planning in Japan. When women received the vote in 1946, she became one of the first to be elected to the Diet (parliament), serving first in the lower house (1946–50) and then in the upper (1950–74). In 1988, in recognition of her work in less-developed countries, she was given the UN Population Award, the first Japanese person to be so honoured.

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