Date of birth: Jan. 15, 1946

Party: Democratic Party of Japan

Electoral district: Lower House; Tokushima No. 1 (sixth term)

Sengoku was appointed chief Cabinet secretary — the position known as the government's top spokesman — by Naoto Kan in June. When the DPJ-led coalition came to power last year, he served as state minister in charge of government revitalization as well as state minister in charge of civil service and national policy.

A Tokushima native, Sengoku passed the bar exam while studying at the University of Tokyo. He began his career as a lawyer in 1971 and worked for 19 years. Social Democratic Party chief Mizuho Fukushima once worked under him.

Sengoku won his first Lower House seat in 1990 as a member of the old Social Democratic Party of Japan. He lost his seat in 1993 but regained it in 1996 on the DPJ ticket.

*Appointed to take over duties of Minoru Yanagida (Justice Minister) after his resignation Nov. 22, 2010.