--- description: Find out how Arfiya Eri is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2023 TIME100 Next: Arfiya Eri image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b40d1c10427ab44/698a3ff1096a9475f16ae173/time100-next-arfiya-eri-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 13, 2023 # Arfiya Eri by [Chad de Guzman](/author/chad-de-guzman/) ## Chad de Guzman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter  Arfiya Eri Arfiya EriKentaro Takahashi—Bloomberg/Getty Images Rare is an understatement for what Arfiya Eri represents in Japan. The [member of parliament](https://time.com/6280816/arfiya-eri-uyghur-japan-parliament-ldp/ "undefined"), who took office in April, marks a sharp break from her peers. In Japan, some 90% of parliamentary or ministerial posts are held by men, the average age of lawmakers is 56, and officials routinely claim the nation is mono­racial. But Eri, 34, is of Uighur-Uzbek heritage and can speak, to varying degrees of fluency, English, Chinese, Uzbek, Turkish, Uighur, and Arabic, in addition to Japanese. Eri has become a champion of diversity in Japan, but she doesn’t want the “old boys’ club” running the country to see her as a threat. She ran within the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party, embracing many of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s positions, and enjoying the support of Japan’s popular digital minister Taro Kono. Eri has pitched herself as a bridge to better representation of the country’s true diversity. --- ### More from TIME --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308546/arfiya-eri/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308546/arfiya-eri/"},"headline":"Arfiya Eri","datePublished":"2023-09-13T11:00:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:19:37.541Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308546/arfiya-eri/","keywords":["TIME 100 Next","sponsorshipblock","time100nextartists23"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b40d1c10427ab44/698a3ff1096a9475f16ae173/time100-next-arfiya-eri-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"creator":"Chad de Guzman","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b40d1c10427ab44/698a3ff1096a9475f16ae173/time100-next-arfiya-eri-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308546/arfiya-eri/","name":"Arfiya Eri"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 Next List","description":"TIME100 Next, our annual franchise recognizing the rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts and more.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QxIk3IJu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-09-13T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QxIk3IJu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308546/arfiya-eri/","duration":"PT1M58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2023/6308546/arfiya-eri/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```