PROFILE: New environment minister Ishihara is son of late outspoken Tokyo governor

New environment minister Hirotaka Ishihara, a former senior vice minister at the Environment Ministry, is one of the four sons of the late Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, known as an outspoken politician who often provoked China and the United States.

Born into a family sometimes referred to as the “Kennedys of Japan,” Ishihara, 61, won his first House of Representatives seat in 2005 after working for a predecessor of Mizuho Financial Group Inc. He enjoys reading and walking.

Ishihara’s eldest brother, Nobuteru, is also a former lower house member who served as secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party. His second brother, Yoshizumi, is a TV personality, and his youngest, Nobuhiro, is a painter.

==Kyodo