Cabinet of Japan

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.

Cabinet of Japan
内閣
Naikaku
Go-shichi no kiri crest 2.svg
Kantei PM Japan Residence.jpg
Prime Minister's Official Residence
Agency overview
Formed22 December 1885; 137 years ago (1885-12-22)
Preceding agency
JurisdictionGovernment of Japan
HeadquartersChiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Agency executive
Child agencies
Websitehttps://www.kantei.go.jp/

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

AppointmentEdit

Under the constitution, 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 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 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.

PowersEdit

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.

Powers exercised via the emperorEdit

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

Explicit powersEdit

  • Execution of the law.
  • Conduct of foreign affairs.
  • Conclusion of treaties (with the consent of the Diet).
  • Administration of the civil service.
  • Drafting of the budget (which must be adopted by the 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 JapanEdit

Under edicts (1885–1947)Edit

Cabinets between 1885 and 1947 were formed under the cabinet edicts of 1885 and 1889. Cabinets were individually responsible to the emperor, and prime ministers were appointed.

Oligarchic "transcendent" (non-/anti-partisan) cabinets
Interwar period / "Taishō democracy" party cabinets
Wartime "national unity" cabinets
Under Allied occupation

Under constitution (1947–present)Edit

Cabinets since 1947 were formed under the Constitution of Japan. Cabinets were collectively responsible to the National Diet, and prime ministers were elected.

Occupation period, multi-party system
LDP dominance
"Lost decades" coalition cabinets

Current cabinetEdit

The current cabinet was formed on 10 August 2022. It is headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

CabinetEdit

Parties
Liberal Democratic
Komeito
R Member of the House of Representatives
C Member of the House of Councillors
B Bureaucrat
Second Kishida Reshuffled Cabinet from 10 August 2022 to present
Portfolio Portrait Minister Electorate Note
Prime Minister   Fumio Kishida R Hiroshima 1st
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications   Minoru Terada R Hiroshima 5th
Minister of Justice   Yasuhiro Hanashi R Ibaraki 3rd
Minister for Foreign Affairs   Yoshimasa Hayashi R Yamaguchi 3rd [1]
Minister of Finance
Minister of State for Financial Services
Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation
  Shun'ichi Suzuki R Iwate 2nd
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Minister in charge of Education Rebuilding
  Keiko Nagaoka R Ibaraki 7th
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare   Katsunobu Kato R Okayama 5th
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries   Tetsuro Nomura C Kagoshima at-large
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
  Yasutoshi Nishimura R Hyōgo 9th
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Minister in charge of Water Cycle Policy
Minister for the World Horticultural Exhibition Yokohama 2027
  Tetsuo Saito R Hiroshima 3rd
Minister of the Environment
Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
  Akihiro Nishimura R Miyagi 3rd
Minister of Defense   Yasukazu Hamada R Chiba 12th
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Minister in charge of Mitigating the Impact of U.S. Forces in Okinawa
Minister in charge of the Abductions Issue
Minister in Charge of Promoting Vaccinations
  Hirokazu Matsuno R Chiba 3rd
Minister for Digital
Minister of State for Digital Reform
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform
  Taro Kono R Kanagawa 15th
Minister of Reconstruction
Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima
  Kenya Akiba R Tohoku PR Block
Chairman 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
  Koichi Tani R Hyōgo 5th
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
  Masanobu Ogura [ja] R Tokyo 23rd
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
  Daishiro Yamagiwa R Kanagawa 18th
Minister in charge of Economic Security
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
  Sanae Takaichi R Nara 2nd
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 "Cool Japan" Strategy
Minister of State for Ainu-Related Policies
Minister in charge of Digital Garden City Nation Vision
Minister for the World Expo 2025
Minister in charge of Administrative Reform
  Naoki Okada C Ishikawa at-large

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

NotesEdit

  1. ^ "PM Kishida to appoint Hayashi as foreign minister | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 6 November 2021.