Date of birth: Feb. 6, 1942

Party: DPJ

Electoral district: Upper House; Ishikawa (first term)

Ichikawa has served as deputy chairman of the DPJ's policy research committee and chaired its policy discussion panel in the Upper House Caucus.

Before entering politics, Ichikawawas a farm ministry bureaucrat for about 25 years.

After becoming head of the disaster measures division, he returned to his native Ishikawa Prefecture to serve in the prefectural assembly for two terms.

He started his career in national politics in the Lower House but lost in the 2005 election.

He returned to the Diet by winning an Upper House seat in 2007.

Ichikawa is a member of DPJ kingpin Ichiro Ozawa's faction and appears to have been working alongside him.

He started out as a member of the now-defunct Shinshinto (New Frontier Party) and the Liberal Party, both of which were headed by Ozawa.