Minister Fumio Kishida, the eldest son of the late House of Representatives member Fumitake Kishida, wasborn in Hiroshima in 1957. A Waseda University law graduate, he joined Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan in 1982. He became his father’s secretary in 1987 and was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993.Since he started his career as a lawmaker, he has served as Director of Committee on Cabinet, the House of Representatives (HR) (1996); Director, Youth Division, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) (1997); Member of Committee on Rules and Administration, HR (1998); Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Construction (Obuchi Cabinet,1999 and Mori Cabinet, 2000); Director, Commerce and Industry Division, LDP (2000); Director-General,Treasury Bureau, LDP/Senior Vice-Minister of Education (2001); Director of Committee on Rules and Administration, HR (2002); Deputy Chairman, Diet Affairs Committee and Director-General, Treasury Bureau, LDP (2003); First Director of Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Chairman of Committee on Health, Labour and Welfare, HR (2005); Deputy Chairman, Diet Affairs Committee, LDP (2006). He became a Cabinet member for the first time in 2007 and was appointed Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Quality-of-Life Policy, Science and Technology Policy, “Challenge Again” Initiative, and Regulatory Reform. He is currently serving as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Science and Technology Policy, Quality-of-Life Policy, and Regulatory Reform and Minister of Consumer Affairs. He has been elected for five consecutive terms to the House of Representatives since 1993.