 Sakaguchi was Minister of Labor in the 1993-94 coalition cabinet led by Morihiro Hosokawa.After the coalition government collapsed, he was the second-ranking officer of three other political parties, New Frontier Party (1994), Shintō Heiwa (1997), and New Komeito Party (1999).In December 2000, he was appointed Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare in the LDP-Liberal-Komeito coalition cabinet of Yoshirō Mori.