Shigeru Ishiba is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese politician. He was Minister of Defense

Minister of Defense (Japan)

The , or , is the Cabinet of Japan member in charge of the Ministry of Defense, formerly known as the Defence Agency before 2007. The current Japanese Minister of Defense is Yasuo Ichikawa, a member of the DPJ. Yasuo Ichikawa has been the Minister of Defense since 2 September 2011...

 under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....

 from 2007 to 2008 and was also Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)

The , or , is the Cabinet of Japan member in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The current minister is Michihiko Kano.-Role:...

.

He is a graduate of Keio University

Keio University

,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...

 and formerly served in the Mitsui

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

is a Japanese bank based in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is a member of the Sumitomo Group and Mitsui Group. As of the year 2009, SMBC was the second largest bank in Japan in terms of assets.-History:...

 bank. He was a major proponent of bringing Japan into the multinational force in Iraq

Multinational force in Iraq

The Multi-National Force – Iraq was a military command, led by the United States, which was responsible for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multi-National Force – Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004, and was later itself reorganized into its successor, United...

 in 2003.

Ishiba is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)

The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...

 and part of the LDP faction led by Yūji Tsushima

Yuji Tsushima

is a Japanese politician serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. A native of Aomori, Aomori, he attended University of Tokyo and passed the bar exam while still in college...

.

He became Defense Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on 26 September 2007, serving in that post until 1 August 2008.

Ishiba is the second person in the Cabinet of Fukuda to express belief in the existence of UFOs after Nobutaka Machimura

Nobutaka Machimura

is a Japanese politician. He is a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was Chief Cabinet Secretary in the government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda from 2007 to 2008.- Career :...

.

Following Fukuda's resignation, Ishiba stood as a candidate for the LDP presidency. In the leadership election

Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) leadership election, 2008

A leadership election was held in the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan on 22 September 2008 after the incumbent party leader and Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda announced that he would resign on 1 September 2008, only 11 months after taking office on 25 September 2007 following a leadership...

, held on September 22, 2008, Taro Aso

Taro Aso

was the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan serving from September 2008 to September 2009, and was defeated in the August 2009 election.He has served in the House of Representatives since 1979. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007, and was Secretary-General of the LDP briefly in 2007 and...

won with 351 of the 527 votes; Ishiba placed fifth and last with 25 votes. In Aso's Cabinet, appointed on 24 September 2008, Ishiba was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.