 She placed eleventh in the 3000 m individual pursuit at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and ninth in the point race at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.Hashimoto resigned from Fuji Kyuko in 1993 and was elected to the House of Councillors in 1995, winning re-election in three subsequent elections.She served as Vice-Minister for Hokkaido Development from 2000 to 2001, as chair of the Education Committee from 2001 to 2003, as deputy secretary-general of the LDP from 2003, and as state secretary (senior vice-minister) for foreign affairs under the Taro Aso administration (2008–2009).