Arfiya Eri

{{short description|Member of the Japanese House of Councillors}}

{{hatnote|In this Uyghur name, the given name is Arfiye. Ablet is a patronymic, not a family name.}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Arfiya Eri

| native_name = {{nobold|英利アルフィヤ}}

| native_name_lang = ja

| image = Arfiya Eri 2022 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2022

| office = Member of the House of Representatives

| term_start = 23 April 2023

| term_end =

| predecessor = Kentaro Sonoura

| successor =

| constituency = Chiba 5th (2023–2024)
Southern Kanto PR (2024–present)

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|10|16|df=y}}

| birth_place = Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Liberal Democratic

| spouse =

| children =

| alma_mater = Georgetown University

| website = {{URL|https://www.eri-arfiya.jp|eri-arfiya.jp}}

| citizenship = Japan

}}

{{Chinese

| t =

| s = 英利阿丽菲亚

| p = Yīnglì Ālìfēiyà

| w =

| kanji = 英利アルフィヤ

| hiragana = えりあるふぃあ

| romaji = Eri Arufiya

| lang1 = Uyghur

| lang1_content = {{lang|ug|ئارفىيە ئابلەت}}

}}

Arfiya Eri ({{Langx|ja|英利アルフィヤ|translit=Eri Arufiya}}; born 16 October 1988{{Cite news| author=| title=えりアルフィヤ「決断と実行。暮らしを守る。」2022年第26回参議院選挙|url=https://www.jimin.jp/election/results/sen_san26/candidate/203681.html| work=自由民主党 | date=| accessdate=2023-04-25|language=ja}}), also known as Arfiye Ablet ({{langx|ug|ئارفىيە ئابلەت}}) in Uyghur, is a Japanese politician for the Liberal Democratic Party of Uyghur and Uzbek descent.

Biography

She was born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. Her father is Uyghur while her mother is of Uzbek descent. She moved to Shanghai at age 10 and Guangzhou at age 11 due to her father's work relocation, and attended the Shanghai American School and the American International School of Guangzhou, where she was elected high school student body president. She graduated from Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service and Graduate School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. Her native language is Japanese, and says she is able to communicate in English, Chinese, Uzbek, Turkish and Uyghur with considerable fluency, plus basic level Arabic.https://www.eri-arfiya.jp/{{Cite news |date=2022-06-27 |title=A 33-Year-Old Female Fights 'Old Boys' Club' in Japan Election |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-27/one-female-candidate-s-run-shows-lagging-diversity-in-japan |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-01-20}} Arfiya previously spent time as an official for the Bank of Japan and the United Nations.{{Cite web |title=From 'get married' to getting elected – women a record one-third of candidates in Japan poll {{!}} Japan {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/07/from-get-married-to-getting-elected-women-a-record-one-third-of-candidates-in-japan-poll |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=amp.theguardian.com}}

She ran as an LDP candidate during the 2022 Japanese House of Councillors election.{{Cite web |title=Uyghur News Recap: June 17-24, 2022 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/uyghur-news-recap-june-17-24-2022-/6632365.html |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=Voice of America}} In April 2023, she was elected to the Japanese House of Representatives in a by-election for Chiba's 5th district.{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Eric |date=2023-04-24 |title=Kishida rules out snap poll after LDP wins big in Sunday by-elections |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/24/national/politics-diplomacy/japan-parliamentary-elections-ldp/ |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=The Japan Times |language=en-US}}

Appointed Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs in November 2024.{{Cite web |title=えりアルフィヤ公式ホームページ – Eri Arfiya Official Website |url=https://www.eri-arfiya.jp/%E5%A4%96%E5%8B%99%E5%A4%A7%E8%87%A3%E6%94%BF%E5%8B%99%E5%AE%98%E3%82%92%E6%8B%9D%E5%91%BD/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=えりアルフィヤ公式ホームページ – Eri Arfiya Official Website |language=ja}}

Political positions

She has described her policies as in line with most mainstream LDP positions. She has been vocal about her support for initiatives to promote gender equality in Japan. Eri has noted that female and young politicians are rare in Japan (She was 33 years old as of July 2022), saying that, "We need better representation -- we need young people to feel that they are being represented, that the future is in their hands. Right now, a lot of antagonism comes from the fact that most of the politicians look the same to them."

Eri is strongly anti-authoritarian, a position she says is shaped by China's human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.{{Cite web |last=Hiyama |first=Hiroshi |date=2022-06-20 |title=Uyghur-heritage candidate urges Japan to 'embrace diversity' |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/20/national/politics-diplomacy/arfiya-eri-japan-election/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621050050/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/20/national/politics-diplomacy/arfiya-eri-japan-election/ |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |url-status=dead|access-date=2023-01-20 |website=The Japan Times |language=en-US}}