is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan. A native of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi and high-school graduate he was elected to the Diet for the first time in 1990 after serving in the union executive and local assemblies for 15 years. Honours Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2018) References External links in Japanese. Living people 1945 births People from Shimonoseki Democratic Party of Japan politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Japanese trade unionists 21st-century Japanese politicians Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Education ministers of Japan Culture ministers of Japan Science ministers of Japan Sports ministers of Japan Technology ministers of Japan