Cabinet of Japan

Cabinet of Japan

内閣 Naikaku
The Government Seal of Japan
Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office of Japan)
Agency overview
Formed	22 December 1885 (1885-12-22)
Preceding agency	Daijō-kan
Jurisdiction	Government of Japan
Headquarters	Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Agency executive	Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan
Child agencies	Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office) Cabinet Office Ministries of Japan
Website	https://japan.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 current cabinet is Second Ishiba Cabinet, which was formed on 11 November 2024, is led by the prime minister Shigeru Ishiba. The country has had a Liberal Democratic–Komeito coalition cabinet (minority government) since 2024.

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 Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office of Japan) 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.
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  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

Main article: List of Japanese cabinets

Current Cabinet

Main article: Second Ishiba Cabinet

The current cabinet, led by the newly appointed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and succeeded the First Ishiba Cabinet. Ishiba is currently in the process of forming his cabinet, following the 2024 General Election.

As of 11 November 2024, the makeup of the current Cabinet is as follows:

103rd Cabinet of Japan Second Ishiba Cabinet
Color key:      Liberal Democratic      Komeito MR: member of the House of Representatives, MC: member of the House of Councillors, B: bureaucrat
Minister Constituency			Office(s)	Department	Took Office
Cabinet ministers
		Shigeru Ishiba MR for Tottori 1st	Prime Minister	Cabinet Office	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Seiichiro Murakami MR for Ehime 2nd	Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications	Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Keisuke Suzuki MR for Southern Kanto PR block	Minister of Justice	Ministry of Justice	11 November 2024 (2024-11-11)
		Takeshi Iwaya MR for Ōita 3rd	Minister for Foreign Affairs	Ministry of Foreign Affairs	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Katsunobu Katō MR for Okayama 5th	Minister of Finance Minister of State for Financial Services Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation	Ministry of Finance Financial Services Agency	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Toshiko Abe MR for Chūgoku PR block	Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister in charge of Education Rebuilding	Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Takamaro Fukuoka MC for Saga at-large	Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare	Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Taku Etō MR for Miyazaki 2nd	Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	11 November 2024 (2024-11-11)
		Yoji Muto MR for Gifu 3rd	Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact Caused by the Nuclear Accident Minister for Green Transformation Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation	Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Hiromasa Nakano MR for Hyōgo 8th	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	11 November 2024 (2024-11-11)
		Keiichiro Asao MC for Kanagawa at-large	Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness	Ministry of the Environment	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Gen Nakatani MR for Kōchi 1st	Minister of Defense	Ministry of Defense	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		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 Abduction Issue	Cabinet Secretariat Cabinet Office	14 December 2023 (2023-12-14)
		Masaaki Taira MR for Tokyo 4th	Minister for Digital Transformation Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform Minister in charge of Cybersecurity Minister of State for Regulatory Reform	Digital Agency Cabinet Office	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Tadahiko Ito MR for Aichi 8th	Minister of Reconstruction Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima	Reconstruction Agency	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Manabu Sakai MR for Kanagawa 5th	Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister in charge of Building National Resilience Minister in charge of Territorial Issues Minister of State for Disaster Management and Ocean Policy	National Public Safety Commission Cabinet Office	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Junko Mihara MC for Kanagawa at-large	Minister of State for Policies Related to Children Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Youth’s Empowerment Minister of State for Gender Equality Minister of State for Promoting Cohesive and Mutual Assistance Society Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment Minister in charge of Cohesive Society	Children and Families Agency Cabinet Office	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Ryosei Akazawa MR for Tottori 2nd	Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Minister in charge of New Capitalism Minister in charge of Wage Increase Minister in charge of Startups Minister in charge of Social Security Reform Minister in charge of Infectious Disease Crisis Management Minister in charge of the Preparation of Establishing the Disaster Management Agency Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy	Cabinet Office	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Minoru Kiuchi MR for Shizuoka 7th	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	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)
		Yoshitaka Itō MR for Hokkaido 7th	Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs Minister for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister of State for Regional Revitalization Minister of State for Ainu-Related Policies Minister in charge of the Creation of New Regional Economies and Living Environments Minister for the World Expo 2025	Cabinet Office	1 October 2024 (2024-10-01)

See also

• Cabinet Office
• List of female cabinet ministers of Japan
• Politics of Japan
• Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Office of Japan)

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