Otsuji briefly attended the National Defense Academy but dropped out in 1961 to support his sister after their mother died. He later attended the prestigious University of Tokyo, but again dropped out.[1]
From his own account, Otsuji was unhappy with university education. Reflecting on his youth as en elderly politician, he noted the social unrest at the time and protests against the government of Prime Minister Kishi, and said that lectures were rarely held and there was no worthwhile education to be had. Instead, he took the time to travel the world and visited close to 80 countries over a period of five years. In 1971 he returned to Japan and officially withdrew from Tokyo University and returned to Kagoshima.[1]
Resolving to become a politician, Otsuji was elected to the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly in 1979. He was defeated in his run for the House of Representatives in 1986 but was elected to the House of Councillors in 1989.
He served as Parliamentary Vice Minister in the Management and Coordination Agency in 1992, Parliamentary Vice Minister in the Okinawa Development Agency in 1994 and Senior Vice Minister of Finance in 2001. In 2004 he was appointed Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi, serving as such until 2005.[2]
Otsuji is affiliated to the conservative organization Nippon Kaigi.[6]
Otsuji is also the author of several books, including "Africa Travel Diary" and "Going to Bokemon World." "Bokemon" is a word from the Kagoshima dialect of Japanese meaning "recklessly strong".
