Junko Mihara

Junko Mihara is Japanese actress and media personality who had quite a successful racing career in the 1990s, both in Japan and further afield. 

She started in touring cars in 1990 and drove in some races of the Japanese championship then and in 1991 in a TOMS Toyota Corolla. Both times, she shared a car with Masahiro Matsunaga, who was her husband. He taught her to drive a racing car earlier in their relationship. Her achievements in her first seasons were mostly finishing rather than scoring points; in 1990 her finishing record was patchy, but this improved in 1991. 

In 1992, she changed teams, driving for the Kawasho set-up, but her car was the same. Although she scored a few points, she did not enter enough races to make an impact on the championship. Her best finish was 17th at Tsukuba. 

Between 1992 and 1995, she also raced a little in Europe, entering the Spa 24 Hours each year. She was always in a Toyota, either an MR2 or a Corolla, and usually with Matsunaga. She was 16th in 1994 and 19th in 1995, and did not finish the other races. For the latter race, she was part of an all-female team with Michiko Okuyama and Kumi Sato. 

In 1996 and 1997, she raced sportscars in Japan alongside Matsunaga, in an MR2. She was not among the front-runners, although the Japanese Super GT championship at the time was very competitive. Her best finish was 20th at the Fuji Special GT Cup in 1996. Again, her finishing record was good in 1997, although she was never in contention for wins.

In 1998, she made one appearance at the Fuji GT round in a Toyota Cavalier, but was unclassified. The car was a rebadged Vauxhall and was unusual, if not particularly fast. That year, she also raced in the USA, taking part in the Toyota Long Beach Pro-Celebrity race as a pro with Kumi Sato. She was 16th.

She does not appear to have raced since then. Her 1999 divorce from Matsunaga was probably a contributing factor.

After leaving both motorsport and showbusiness behind and also recovering from cervical cancer, Junko entered politics. She stood for election for Japan’s ruling Liberal party.

(Image from /www.jiaponline.org/)