is a former justice of the Supreme Court of Japan

Supreme Court of Japan

The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...

. She was the second woman in history to serve in that role.

She attended International Christian University

International Christian University

There are several rankings related to ICU, shown below.-Alumni rankings:According to the Weekly Economist's 2010 rankings and the PRESIDENT's article on 2006/10/16, graduates from ICU have the 24th best employment rate in 400 major companies, and their average graduate salary is the 4th best in...

 and became a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Health and Welfare after graduation. She was appointed as head of Japan's social insurance system in 1994, and as ambassador to the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 in 1998. In 2001, she was appointed to the Supreme Court.

In September 2008, Yokoo resigned two years and seven months prior to the mandatory retirement age of 70. Ryuko Sakurai

Ryuko Sakurai

is a member of the Supreme Court of Japan. She joined on September 11, 2008.Sakurai, a former bureaucrat of the Ministry of Labor, replaced Kazuko Yokoo, who resigned. She was the third woman to take a post in the Supreme Court of Japan.-References:...

replaced Yokoo.