Ichiro Ozawa was born on May 24, 1942 in the city of Mizusawa, Iwate Prefecture, into the family of a politician.
1967: graduated from the Economics Department of Keio University, a prestigious private school.
1969: first elected a member of the House of Representatives from an electoral district in the Iwate Prefecture; has since been reelected 13 times.
Mr Ozawa has held a number of important positions in the Government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP):
1975-1976: Parliamentary Vice Minister of Construction
1976-1977: Interior Minister
1985-1986: Parliamentary Vice Minister of Science and Technology Agency
1987-1989: Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
1989-1991: LDP Secretary-General
1993: left the LDP and founded, with a number of associates, the Japan Renewal Party (Shinseito), and headed the party as its Secretary-General. Mr Ozawa became one of the "architects of Morihiro Hosokawa's coalition Government, the first government to replace Liberal Democrats in power.
1994: Secretary-General of the New Frontier Party (Shinshinto)
1995: President of the New Frontier Party (Shinshinto)
1998-2003: after dissolution of the New Frontier Party, established and became President of the Liberal Party.
2003: the Liberal Party merged with the Democratic Party; Ichiro Ozawa became the Acting President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) (2003-2004).
2004-2005: DPJ Deputy President
2006: elected DPJ President
In 1991, then LDP Secretary-General, Ichiro Ozawa visited Moscow twice - in February and March. He met with Mikhail Gorbachev and explored the possibility for the return of the four contested islands to Japan in exchange for Tokyo's extended economic and financial assistance to the USSR. The proposals were rejected by Moscow. Mr Ozawa visited Moscow again in May 1996.
He repeatedly stated that the "issue of contested territories is too complicated and sensitive" to be resolved quickly and easily; therefore interaction between the people of both countries is gaining particular importance in this respect.