Monday, Apr. 04, 2011

Seiko Noda

Age: 50
Occupation: Member of Japan's Parliament
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0

In a country that's shrinking fast because of low fertility rates, Japanese parliamentarian Seiko Noda gave birth in January to her first child through fertility treatment at age 50. She's a record breaker on many levels, a veteran politician with the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, a proponent of women's rights in a country not keen on female equality and the rare Japanese woman to admit to fertility problems.