Mieko Nakabayashi (中林美恵子, born 24 September 1960) is a Japanese politician, academic, and author.
After graduating from Honjō City High School,[1] she studied political science at Osaka University and then at Washington State University. She worked as a staff member at the United States Congressional and Senate Budget Committee with Pete Domenici.
Nakabayashi ran in the 2009 Japanese legislative election, with the Democratic Party of Japan in the Kanagawa 1st district.[2] She was elected, and entered the Diet of Japan. She is part of a group of Japanese politicians called the "Ozawa Children", young female politicians introduced to politics by Ichirō Ozawa. This is a reference to the "Children of Koizumi", equivalent to the Liberal Democratic Party in power until 2009.
A candidate for re-election in the 2012 legislative elections, she failed to be re-elected in her constituency.
She taught at Atomi Women’s University, and Waseda University.[3] [4] Alongside her teaching career, she regularly appears in the Japanese media on various national and international political topics, especially American, as a geopolitical expert.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]