Yohei Kono didn’t let Hepatitis C stop him from becoming Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 2002 Kono’s STD status became the subject of a New York Times article when he had to accept a liver transplant from his son Taro Kono, another notable Japanese politician over the his initial objections. The Hepatitis C infection was said to have been 30 years old at that time.
This report has been updated to include a video of Kono advocating that the Japanese government adapt as policy a statement he made in 1993 known as the "Kono Statement" probably because his name is Kono and it is his statement, which is of course why he supports it.
The source link has also been updated.