 In 1980 he was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time, and has been elected eight times since.He was the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs from July 1994 until August 1995, and the Chairman of the Committee on Health and Welfare from March 1998 to July 1998.In July 1998 he was appointed to be the Minister of State for the National Land Agency by Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi, and became the Minister of State for Financial Reconstruction in October of that year.