[4] He was appointed minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on 30 November 1981 in a cabinet reshuffle and succeeded Takeo Kameoka in the post.

[7] Tazawa retained his post in the late December 1988 reshuffle.

Tazawa retired from politics and was appointed president of Hirosaki Gakuin University.

[3] Tazawa's wife managed a large farm in Aomori which is one of the significant agricultural and fishing regions in Japan.

[2] Tazawa died of esophagus cancer at a hospital in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, on 12 December 2001.