From August 1993 to April 1994, he served as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in Morihiro Hosokawa's cabinet.

[1] Around the time some members of the LDP were voicing opposition to a local referendum which expressed opposition to a proposed dam project along the Yoshino River, Kanzaki insisted that the voters' decision should be respected fully.

[2] In 2001, he stated his support for allowing married couples to retain separate surnames.

Although Komeito suffered a heavy blow in the 2009 general election along with its coalition partner, Kanzaki was able to secure a position in the Diet thanks to the Kyushu PR block results.

He retired from the Diet in 2010 due to kidney failure, but remained a permanent advisor to his party.