Cabinet of Japan
内閣 Naikaku | |
Prime Minister's Official Residence | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 22 December 1885 |
Preceding agency | |
Jurisdiction | Government of Japan |
Headquarters | Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan |
Agency executive | |
Child agencies |
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Website | https://www.kantei.go.jp/ |
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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
[edit]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
[edit]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.
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The Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence) is where the Cabinet is located.
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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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]Current Cabinet
[edit]Portfolio | Portrait | Minister | Took office | Constituency | |||
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Cabinet ministers | |||||||
Prime Minister | Shigeru Ishiba | R | 1 October 2024 | Tottori 1st | |||
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications | Seiichiro Murakami | R | 1 October 2024 | Ehime 2nd | |||
Minister of Justice | Hideki Makihara | R | 1 October 2024 | Northern Kanto PR block | |||
Minister for Foreign Affairs | Takeshi Iwaya | R | 1 October 2024 | Oita 3rd | |||
Minister of Finance Minister of State for Financial Services Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation |
Katsunobu Katō | R | 1 October 2024 | Okayama 5th | |||
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | Toshiko Abe | R | 1 October 2024 | Chūgoku PR block | |||
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare | Takamaro Fukuoka | C | 1 October 2024 | Saga at-large | |||
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Yasuhiro Ozato | R | 1 October 2024 | Kyushu PR block | |||
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation |
Yoji Muto | R | 1 October 2024 | Gifu 3rd | |||
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 | 4 October 2021 | Hiroshima 3rd | |||
Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness |
Keiichiro Asao | C | 1 October 2024 | Kanagawa at-large | |||
Minister of Defense | Gen Nakatani | R | 1 October 2024 | Kōchi 1st | |||
Chief Cabinet Secretary | Yoshimasa Hayashi | R | 14 December 2023 | Yamaguchi 3rd | |||
Minister for Digital Transformation Minister in charge of Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reforms Minister in charge of Digital Garden City Nation Vision Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform Minister of State for Regulatory Reform |
Masaaki Taira | R | 1 October 2024 | Tokyo 4th | |||
Minister of Reconstruction Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima |
Tadahiko Ito | R | 1 October 2024 | Aichi 8th | |||
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 |
Manabu Sakai | R | 1 October 2024 | Kanagawa 5th | |||
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 in charge of Women's Empowerment Minister in charge of Cohesive Society Minister in charge of Measures for Loneliness and Isolation |
Junko Mihara | C | 1 October 2024 | Kanagawa at-large | |||
Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Minister in charge of New Capitalism Minister in charge of Startups Minister in charge of Infectious Disease Crisis Management Minister in charge of Social Security Reform Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy |
Ryosei Akazawa | R | 1 October 2024 | Tottori 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 |
Minoru Kiuchi | R | 1 October 2024 | Shizuoka 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 for the World Expo 2025 |
Yoshitaka Itō | R | 1 October 2024 | Hokkaido 7th |
See also
[edit]- Cabinet Office
- List of female cabinet ministers of Japan
- Politics of Japan
- Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence of Japan)
References
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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