Takemura was born in Gamō District in Shiga Prefecture to a family of farmers.

He began his professional life as a bureaucrat in the home affairs ministry.

[2] He was elected to the Lower House in 1986 as a representative of the Liberal Democratic Party.

[3] He took part in the coalition government of Morihiro Hosokawa as chief cabinet secretary.

[6] It has been speculated that his confrontational attitude towards the officials of the Ministry of Finance stem from the manner in which the Hosokawa government fell apart over the introduction of consumption tax, with Ministry of Finance Officials conspiring with Hosokawa to keep coalitions partners in the dark over their plans.