Cabinet of Japan

Cabinet of Japan
内閣; Naikaku
	The Government Seal of Japan
	; Prime Minister's Official Residence
Agency overview
Formed	22 December 1885; 138 years ago
Preceding agency	Daijō-kan;
Jurisdiction	Government of Japan
Headquarters	Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Agency executive	Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan;
Child agencies	Prime Minister's Official Residence; Cabinet Office (Japan); Ministries of Japan;
Website	https://www.kantei.go.jp/

The Cabinet of Japan (Japanese: 内閣, Hepburn: Naikaku) is the chief executive body of the government of Japan. It consists of the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the Emperor after being nominated by the National Diet, in addition to up to nineteen other members, called Ministers of State.

The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Diet, while the remaining ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the National Diet and must resign if a motion of no confidence is adopted by the National Diet.

Appointment

Under the Constitution of Japan, Cabinet ministers are appointed after the selection of the prime minister. A majority of the Cabinet, including the prime minister, must be members of the National Diet, and all members must be civilians. Under the Cabinet Law, the number of Cabinet Ministers (excluding the prime minister) must be fourteen or less, but this may be increased to nineteen if a special need arises. If the Cabinet collectively resigns, it continues to exercise its functions until the appointment of a new prime minister. While they are in office, legal action may not be taken against Cabinet ministers without the consent of the prime minister. The Cabinet must resign en masse in the following circumstances:

When a motion of no confidence is adopted, or a vote of confidence defeated, by the House of Representatives, unless there is a dissolution of the house within ten days.
Upon the first convocation of the National Diet after a general election to the House of Representatives (even if the same prime minister is to be re-elected and appointed, and every other minister is to be reappointed).
When the position of prime minister becomes vacant, or the prime minister declares his intention to resign.

Powers

The Cabinet exercises two kinds of power. Some of its powers are nominally exercised by the Emperor with the binding "advice and approval" of the Cabinet. Other powers are explicitly vested in the Cabinet. Contrary to the practice in many constitutional monarchies, the Emperor is not even the nominal chief executive. Instead, the Constitution explicitly vests executive authority in the Cabinet. Hence, nearly all of the day-to-day work of governing is done by the Cabinet.

In practice, much of the Cabinet's authority is exercised by the prime minister. Under the Constitution, the prime minister exercises "control and supervision" over the executive branch, and no law or Cabinet order can take effect without the prime minister's countersignature (and the emperor's promulgation). While Cabinet Ministers in most other parliamentary democracies theoretically have some freedom of action (within the limits of cabinet collective responsibility), the Japanese Cabinet is effectively an extension of the prime minister's authority.

According to Article 75 of the Constitution, Ministers of State are not subject to legal action without the consent of the prime minister during their tenure of office.

The Prime Minister's Official Residence is where the Cabinet is located.
The Paulownia Seal is routinely considered to be the symbol of the Japanese prime minister, cabinet, as well as the government at large.
The official seal of the Japanese Cabinet

Powers exercised via the Emperor

Promulgation of amendment of the constitution, laws, cabinet orders, and treaties
Convocation of the National Diet
Dissolution of the House of Representatives
Proclamation of general elections to the National Diet
Receiving of foreign ambassadors and ministers
Conferring of honours

Explicit powers

Execution of the law
Conduct of foreign affairs
Conclusion of treaties (with the consent of the National Diet).
Administration of the civil service
Drafting of the budget (which must be adopted by the National Diet)
Adoption of cabinet orders
Granting of general amnesty, special amnesty, commutation of punishment, reprieve, and restoration of rights
Signing of laws or cabinet orders by the relevant Minister of State and countersigned by the Prime Minister
Appointment of the associate justices of the Supreme Court of Japan (except for the Chief Justice, who is nominated by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the Emperor)
Appointment of vice-ministers (who are nominated by their respective minister to whom they will report)

List of cabinets of Japan

Under edicts and Meiji Constitution (1885–1947)

Cabinets between 1885 and 1947 were formed under the cabinet edicts of 1885 and 1889, under Meiji Constitution from 1890 to 1947. Cabinets were individually responsible to the Emperor, and prime ministers were appointed.

Oligarchic "transcendent" (non-/anti-partisan) cabinets

Interwar period / "Taishō democracy" party cabinets

19. Hara
20. Takahashi
21. To. Katō
22. Yamamoto II
23. Kiyoura
24. Ta. Katō
25. Wakatsuki I
26. G. Tanaka
27. Hamaguchi
28. Wakatsuki II
29. Inukai

Wartime "national unity" cabinets

30. Saitō
31. Okada
32. Hirota
33. Hayashi
34. Konoe I
35. Hiranuma
36. N. Abe
37. Yonai
38. Konoe II
39. Konoe III
40. Tōjō
41. Koiso
42. K. Suzuki

Under Allied occupation

Under current constitution (1947–present)

Cabinets since 1947 were formed under the Constitution of Japan. Cabinets were collectively responsible to the National Diet, and prime ministers were elected and appointed by the Emperor according to Article 6 of the Japanese Constitution.

Occupation period, multi-party system

LDP dominance

"Lost decades" coalition cabinets

Current Cabinet

As of 14 December 2023,^[update] the makeup of the Cabinet:^[1]

Minister Constituency		Office(s)	Department	Took Office
101st Cabinet of Japan Second Kishida Cabinet (Second Reshuffle)
Color key: Liberal Democratic Komeito MR: member of the House of Representatives, MC: member of the House of Councillors, B: bureaucrat
Cabinet ministers
	Fumio Kishida MR for Hiroshima 1st	Prime Minister	Cabinet Office	4 October 2021 (3 years ago) (2021-10-04)
	Takeaki Matsumoto MR for Hyōgo 11th	Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications	Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications	14 December 2023 (11 months ago) (2023-12-14)
	Ryuji Koizumi MR for Saitama 11th	Minister of Justice	Ministry of Justice	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Yōko Kamikawa MR for Shizuoka 1st	Minister for Foreign Affairs	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Shun'ichi Suzuki MR for Iwate 2nd	Minister of Finance Minister of State for Financial Services Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation	Ministry of Finance Financial Services Agency	4 October 2021 (3 years ago) (2021-10-04)
	Masahito Moriyama MR for Kinki PR block	Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister in charge of Education Rebuilding	Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Keizō Takemi MC for Tokyo at-large	Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare	Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Tetsushi Sakamoto MR for Kumamoto 3rd	Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	14 December 2023 (11 months ago) (2023-12-14)
	Ken Saitō MR for Chiba 7th	Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness Minister for Economic Cooperation with Russia Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Accident Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation	Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry	14 December 2023 (11 months ago) (2023-12-14)
	Tetsuo Saito MR for Hiroshima 3rd	Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister in charge of Water Cycle Policy Minister for the World Horticultural Exhibition Yokohama 2027	Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism	4 October 2021 (3 years ago) (2021-10-04)
	Shintaro Ito MR for Miyagi 4th	Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness	Ministry of the Environment	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Minoru Kihara MR for Kumamoto 1st	Minister of Defense	Ministry of Defense	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Yoshimasa Hayashi MR for Yamaguchi 3rd	Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister in charge of Mitigating the Impact of U.S. Forces in Okinawa Minister in charge of the Abductions Issue	Cabinet Secretariat	14 December 2023 (11 months ago) (2023-12-14)
	Taro Kono MR for Kanagawa 15th	Minister for Digital Transformation Minister of State for Digital Reform Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform	Digital Agency Cabinet Office	10 August 2022 (2 years ago) (2022-08-10)
	Shinako Tsuchiya MR for Saitama 13th	Minister of Reconstruction Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima	Reconstruction Agency	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Yoshifumi Matsumura MC for Kumamoto at-large	Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission Minister in charge of Building National Resilience Minister in charge of Territorial Issues Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform Minister of State for Disaster Management and Ocean Policy	National Public Safety Commission Cabinet Office	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Ayuko Kato MR for Yamagata 3rd	Minister in charge of Policies Related to Children Minister in charge of Cohesive Society Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment Minister in charge of Measures for Loneliness and Isolation Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Gender Equality	Children and Families Agency Cabinet Office	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Yoshitaka Shindō MR for Saitama 2nd	Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Minister in charge of New Capitalism Minister in charge of Startups Minister in charge of Measures for Novel Coronavirus Disease and Health Crisis Management Minister in charge of Social Security Reform Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy	Cabinet Office	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)
	Sanae Takaichi MR for Nara 2nd	Minister in charge of Economic Security Minister of State for "Cool Japan" Strategy Minister of State for Intellectual Property Strategy Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy Minister of State for Space Policy Minister of State for Economic Security	Cabinet Office	10 August 2022 (2 years ago) (2022-08-10)
	Hanako Jimi MC for National PR block	Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Minister of State for Regional Revitalization Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Minister of State for Ainu-Related Policies Minister in charge of Digital Garden City Nation Vision Minister for the World Expo 2025	Cabinet Office	13 September 2023 (15 months ago) (2023-09-13)

References

The Japan Times. "Cabinet Profiles" [since 2008]. The Japan Times Online. Accessed 13 October 2012 from: https://web.archive.org/web/20040623111921/http://www.japantimes.com/cabinets.htm
Cabinet Secretariat, Office of Cabinet Public Relations, Japan (2003) prime minister of Japan and His Cabinet. Retrieved 28 Oct. 2003
Hunter, Janet (1984). Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 266–324, Appendix 5: Japanese Cabinets Since the Introduction of the Cabinet System in 1885 [to 1980].

External links

Official Website of the prime minister of Japan and His Cabinet
List of successive Japanese cabinets (in Japanese)
Previous Cabinets (Since 1996) and list of previous prime ministers (Since 1885) (in English)
Cabinet Office
Cabinet Secretariat (in Japanese only)
Cabinet Legislation Bureau

Notes

^ "List of Ministers". Prime Minister's Office of Japan. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

[1] "List of Ministers". Prime Minister's Office of Japan. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.

[1]

v t e Cabinets of Japan
Empire of Japan (1885–1947)	Itō I Kuroda Sanjō caretaker Yamagata I Matsukata I Itō II Matsukata II Itō III Ōkuma I Yamagata II Itō IV Katsura I Saionji I Katsura II Saionji II Katsura III Yamamoto I Ōkuma II Terauchi Hara Takahashi Katō To. Yamamoto II Kiyoura Katō Ta. Wakatsuki I Tanaka G. Hamaguchi Wakatsuki II Inukai Saitō Okada Hirota Hayashi Konoe I Hiranuma N. Abe Yonai Konoe II Konoe III Tōjō Koiso K. Suzuki Higashikuni Shidehara Yoshida I
Japan (1947–present)	Katayama Ashida Yoshida II Yoshida III (R1) (R2) (R3) Yoshida IV Yoshida V I. Hatoyama I I. Hatoyama II I. Hatoyama III Ishibashi Kishi I (R) Kishi II (R) Ikeda I Ikeda II (R1) (R2) (R3) Ikeda III (R) Satō I (R1) (R2) (R3) Satō II (R1) (R2) Satō III (R) K. Tanaka I K. Tanaka II (R1) (R2) Miki (R) T. Fukuda (R) Ōhira I Ōhira II Z. Suzuki (R) Nakasone I Nakasone II (R1) (R2) Nakasone III Takeshita (R) Uno Kaifu I Kaifu II (R) Miyazawa (R) Hosokawa Hata Murayama (R) Hashimoto I Hashimoto II (R) Obuchi (R1) (R2) Mori I Mori II (R Before 2001 CGR) (R After 2001 CGR) Koizumi I (R1) (R2) Koizumi II (R) Koizumi III (R) S. Abe I (R) Y. Fukuda (R) Asō Y. Hatoyama Kan (R1) (R2) Noda (R1) (R2) (R3) S. Abe II (R) S. Abe III (R1) (R2) (R3) S. Abe IV (R1) (R2) Suga Kishida I Kishida II (R1) (R2) Ishiba I Ishiba II
Current cabinet

v t e Japanese government ministries and agencies
Cabinet
Cabinet Secretariat Cabinet Legislation Bureau National Security Council National Personnel Authority
Cabinet Office Imperial Household Agency Fair Trade Commission National Public Safety Commission and National Police Agency Personal Information Protection Commission Financial Services Agency Consumer Affairs Agency Casino Regulatory Commission Children and Families Agency [ja] Digital Agency Reconstruction Agency
Internal Affairs and Communications (List) Justice (List) Foreign Affairs (List) Finance (List) Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (List) Health, Labour, and Welfare (List) Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (List) Economy, Trade and Industry (List) Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (List) Environment (List) Defense (List)
Board of Audit (constitutionally independent)

v t e National cabinets of Asia
Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan
Dependencies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau
Category Asia portal

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Japan