Profile of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry Ryutaro Hashimoto
Ryutaro Hashimoto, who was appointed Minister of International Trade and Industry in the cabinet of Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, inaugurated on June 30, 1994, and who retained his post in the August 1995 reshuffling of the cabinet, is the president of the Liberal Democratic Party--the largest party in the National Diet. Hashimoto is a veteran Diet member now serving his eleventh term and has a wealth of cabinet experience, having been Minister of Health and Welfare, Transport, and Finance. He is regarded as a policy expert with a solid grounding in international affairs. As International Trade and Industry Minister, he negotiated an agreement in the Japan-U.S. automobile talks. He was elected president of the LDP in September 1995, succeeding Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono, and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister on October 2.
July 29, 1937
- Born in Okayama Prefecture.
1960
- Graduates from Keio University's Faculty of Law.
1963
- Elected to the House of Representatives (now serving eleventh term).
1970
- Appointed Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Health and Welfare.
1972
- Appointed director of the Social Affairs Division of the LDP's Policy Research Council.
1976
- Appointed chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Social and Labor Affairs.
1978
- Appointed Minister of Health and Welfare.
1980
- Appointed chairman of the LDP Research Commission on Public Administration and Finances.
1984
- Appointed chairman of the LDP Research Commission on Fundamental Policies for Medical Care.
1986
- Appointed Minister of Transport.
1989
- Appointed Secretary General of the LDP. Appointed Minister of Finance.
1993
- Appointed chairman of the LDP Research Commission on Fundamental Policies for the Environment. Appointed chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council.
June 1994
- Appointed Minister of International Trade and Industry.
July 1994
- Attends the G-7 Summit in Naples.
September 1994
- Attends the Quadrilateral Ministerial Meeting in Los Angeles.
November 1994
- Attends the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta.
May 1995
- Attends a Quadrilateral Trade Ministers' Meeting in Whistler, Canada. Attends an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris.
June 1995
- Attends the G-7 Summit in Halifax. Holds automobile talks with U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor in Geneva.
August 1995
- Reappointed Minister of International Trade and Industry. Attends a Japan-Australian Ministerial Meeting in Canberra.
September 1995
- Elected president of the LDP.
October 1995
- Appointed Deputy Prime Minister.
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