Hachinohe, Aomori
A native of Hachinohe, Aomori and graduate of Keio University, he worked at the national newspaper "Mainichi Shimbun" from 1970 to 1974, and was elected to the Aomori Prefectural Assembly in 1975. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1983 after an unsuccessful run in 1980.