| Karen Makishima | |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Office1: | Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform |
| Term Start1: | 4 October 2021 |
| Term End1: | 10 August 2022 |
| Primeminister1: | Fumio Kishida |
| Predecessor1: | Taro Kono |
| Successor1: | Naoki Okada |
| Office2: | Member of the House of Representatives for Kanagawa's 17th district |
| Term Start2: | 16 December 2012 |
| Predecessor2: | Yōsuke Kamiyama |
| Birth Date: | 1 November 1976 |
| Birth Place: | Kanagawa, Japan |
| Occupation: | University professor |
| Party: | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Alma Mater: | International Christian University George Washington University |
| Office: | Minister for Digital |
| Term Start: | 4 October 2021 |
| Term End: | 10 August 2022 |
| Primeminister: | Fumio Kishida |
| Predecessor: | Takuya Hirai (as Digital Minister) |
| Successor: | Taro Kono (as Minister for Digital Transformation) |
is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Digital Affairs, Minister for Digital Reform, Minister in charge of Administrative Reforms, Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform and Minister of State for Regulatory Reform in the First Kishida Cabinet.[1] A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, she has been a member of the House of Representatives from the Kanagawa 17th district since 2012.[2]
Makishima was born in Yokosuka, Kanagawa. Her father was an assistant to representative Junichiro Koizumi and stood as a proportional representation candidate in the 1998 House of Councillors election. She received her bachelor's and doctorate from International Christian University and master's from George Washington University.[3]
She ran for the Kanagawa 17th district seat in the 2009 election, but lost to DPJ candidate Yosuke Kamiyama. She defeated Kamiyama to win the seat in the 2012 election.
Karen Makishima is the only female candidate from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) running in her prefecture for the 2024 general election. Her candidacy highlights the challenges women face in Japan’s male-dominated political landscape, where female representation in parliament remains low despite efforts to reduce the gender gap.[4]