Hirano not known as high profile

Hirofumi Hirano, a close aide to Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama and the likely chief Cabinet secretary in the incoming DPJ administration, is known as a man of few words who would rather work behind-the-scenes than in the spotlight.

A native of Katsuragi, Wakayama Prefecture, and a graduate of Chuo University, Hirano, 60, worked for Osaka-based Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., now known as Panasonic Corp., from 1971 to 1983, when he became the chief secretary to Masao Nakamura, a Lower House lawmaker of the then Japan Socialist Party.

Backed by the Matsushita Electric union, Hirano was elected to the Lower House for the first time in 1996 as an independent, taking over Nakamura's electoral turf.