| 2 Aug. 2008 | Chief Cabinet Secretary (Reshuffled Fukuda Cabinet) |
| 26 Sep. 2007 | Chief Cabinet Secretary
Minister of State for the Abduction Issue (Fukuda Cabinet) |
| 27 Aug. 2007 | Minister for Foreign Affairs iReshuffled Abe Cabinet) |
| Nov. 2005 | Appointed Chairman of the LDP Research Commission on Foreign Affairs |
| 21 Sep. 2005 | Minister for Foreign Affairs (Third Koizumi Cabinet) |
| 27 Sep. 2004 | Minister for Foreign Affairs (Second Koizumi Cabinet) |
| 1 Oct. 2002 | Director-General, Election Bureau, LDP |
| 26 April 2001 | Acting Secretary-General, LDP |
| 6 Jan. 2001 | Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology |
| 5 Dec. 2000 | Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture and Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency (Second Mori Cabinet) |
| March 2000 | Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (Obuchi Cabinet and First Mori Cabinet) |
| 31 July 1998 | State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (Obuchi Cabinet) |
| 11 Sep. 1997 | Minister of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Second Hashimoto Cabinet) |
| 8 Nov. 1996 | Chairman, Standing Committee on Health and Welfare, House of Representatives |
| 26 Dec. 1992 | Director, National Defense Division, Policy Research Council, LDP |
| 16 March 1990 | Director, Cultural Affairs Division, LDP |
| 11 Aug. 1989 | Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (reappointed under First Kaifu Cabinet) |
| 3 June 1989 | Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Uno Cabinet) |
| 18 Dec. 1983 | Elected for the first time to the House of Representatives at the 37th election (elected for eighth consecutive term at the 44th House of Representatives general election, 11 September, 2005) |
| 1 April 1982 | Retired as Director of the Planning Division, Petroleum Department, Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, MITI |
| May 1979 | Seconded to Japan External Trade Organization (New York Trade Center) |
| June 1974 | Seconded to National Land Agency |
| 1 July 1969 | Joined Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) |
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