Bunmei Ibuki

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Bunmei Ibuki (伊吹文明, Ibuki Bunmei^?, born January 9, 1938, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture) is a Japanese politician. He is a Member of the House of Representatives serving the constituency of Kyoto Prefecture, 1st district, where, as of October 2006, he has been elected eight times.^[1] He is currently serving as the Secretary General of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party.^[2]

He was appointed Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology on September 26, 2006 as a part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first cabinet.

He was born in Kyoto to a family of textile wholesalers. He graduated with a BA from Kyoto University's economics department in 1960. At Kyoto University he was a member of the tennis club. Upon graduation Ibuki became a bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance. He was dispatched to the Japanese embassy in London in 1965, where he stayed for four years.^[3]

Ibuki entered politics in 1983 at former Finance Minister Michio Watanabe's behest. He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and has served in a variety of government positions, including Minister of Labour and National Public Safety Commission chairman.

Ibuki's interests include: go, rakugo, dining tours, tennis, and kimono. He is also a fluent English speaker.

House of Representatives of Japan
Preceded by N/A	Representative for Kyoto 1st District 1983 - present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Kenji Kosaka	Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan) 2006 – 2007	Succeeded by Kisaburō Tokai
Preceded by Yutaka Okano	Minister of Labour 1997 – 1998	Succeeded by Akira Amari
Party political offices
Preceded by Taro Aso	Secretary General of the LDP 2007 – present	Incumbent