Mr. Hayashi joined Mitsui & Co.,Ltd.in 1984. He was elected to Japan's House of Councillors for the first time in 1995 and has subsequently been reelected for four consecutive terms. He served as deputy secretary-general for the Liberal Democratic Party in the House of Councillors, parliamentary vice minister for finance, and senior vice minister for the Cabinet Office.

He was appointed to the Cabinet as minister of defense in 2008, and then as minister of state for economic and fiscal policy in 2009. Currently, he serves as the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Mr. Hayashi graduated from the faculty of law at the University of Tokyo. He received his MA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.