After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Department of Law in 1964, he joined the Ministry of Home Affairs and began work in the government bureaucracy.

He worked within the ministry for 20 years before being given a position as Head of the Shizuoka Prefecture Home Affairs Office.

Only a year after, he decided to run for governor of his home prefecture of Shizuoka and resigned from the ministry in June 1993.

Due to repeated delays in the opening of Shizuoka Airport, Governor Ishikawa announced at a news conference on March 25, 2009 that he would resign.

The airport was the largest construction project in the prefecture at the time but the opening was delayed until June 2009.