Yoshimasa Hayashi

Who is Yoshimasa Hayashi?

Yoshimasa Hayashi is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, Koga Faction. He is a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet, currently serving his third term in the Upper House representing Yamaguchi Prefecture. He is the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

A native of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Hayashi graduated from the University of Tokyo and studied at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In the United States, he was a staffer for U.S. Representative Stephen L. Neal and U.S. Senator William V. Roth, Jr.. He began his career with Mitsui & Co.. Hayashi entered politics as a secretary to his father, Finance Minister Yoshiro Hayashi in 1992. Around the same time he was also the member of the policy staff for a US senator. Hayashi was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 1995. He represents the fourth generation of politicians in his family and has concentrated on administrative and tax reform since taking office.

Hayashi was appointed to the Cabinet for the first time as Minister of Defense on 1 August 2008. He held this post for less than two months, however; in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on 24 September 2008, Hayashi was replaced by Yasukazu Hamada.