Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono
Yohei Kono was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, which was inaugurated on 30 June 1994. He was the president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)--the largest party in the House of Representatives until September 1995.
Kono's previous cabinet experience includes positions as Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency and Chief Cabinet Secretary. He first won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1967 and is currently serving his tenth term.
Kono is well known as an advocate of political reform, and earlier in his career, in 1976, he left the LDP with five others to form the New Liberal Club, with Kono serving as chairman. In 1983, the New Liberal Club formed a coalition with the LDP, and in December 1985, he was named Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency. After rejoining the LDP in 1986, Kono served as Chief Cabinet Secretary, a pivotal post whose responsibilities include serving as government spokesman, from December 1992 to July 1993.
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