The is the chief

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

body of the

government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary stat ...

. It consists of the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, who is appointed by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

after being designated by the

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

, and up to nineteen other members, called

Ministers of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

. The prime minister is designated by the Diet, and 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 A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

is adopted by the Diet.

Appointment

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

is adopted, or a vote of confidence defeated, by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, unless there is a dissolution of the house within ten days. *Upon the first convocation of the Diet after a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

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

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 A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, the emperor is not even the ''nominal'' chief executive. Instead, the Constitution explicitly vests

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 Cabinet collective responsibility, also known as collective ministerial responsibility, is a constitutional convention in parliamentary systems that members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if ...

), the Japanese Cabinet is effectively an extension of the prime minister's authority. According to Article 75 of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, Ministers of State are not subject to legal action without the consent of the prime minister during their tenure of office. Go-shichi no kiri crest 2

Powers exercised via the emperor

*Promulgation of amendment of the constitusion, laws, cabinet orders and treaties. *Convocation of the Diet. *Dissolution of the

. *Proclamation of general elections to the 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 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 The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the Supreme court, highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Constitution of Japan, Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It ...

(except for the chief justice, who is designated 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 (1885–1947)

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 * 1. Itō I * 2.

Kuroda Kuroda (written: lit. "black ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese painter * Akinobu Kuroda 黒田明伸, Japanese historian * Chris Kuroda, lighting designer and operator for the band Phish and J ...

* (2. Sanjō interim) * 3. Yamagata I * 4. Matsukata I * 5. Itō II * 6. Matsukata II * 7. Itō III * 8. Ōkuma I * 9. Yamagata II * 10. Itō IV * 11. Katsura I * 12. Saionji I * 13. Katsura II * 14. Saionji II * 15. Katsura III * 16. Yamamoto I * 17. Ōkuma II * 18. Terauchi ;Interwar period / "Taishō democracy" party cabinets * 19. Hara * 20.

Takahashi is the third most common Japanese surname. Less common variants include , , , , , , , and . Notable people with the surname include: * Aaron Takahashi, American actor * , Japanese singer and actress * , Japanese kickboxer * , Japanese classica ...

* 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 Saitō, Saito, Saitou or Saitoh (written: or ) are the 20th and 21st most common Japanese surnames respectively. Less common variants are , , and . Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese sailor *, Japanese women's footballer *, Jap ...

* 31.

Okada Okada (written: 岡田 literally "hill rice-paddy") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: * , Japanese painter * Doris Okada Matsui, American politician of the Democratic Party * , Japanese painter in the Edo period * , Japa ...

* 32. Hirota * 33.

Hayashi Hayashi ( 林, literally " woods"), is the 19th most common Japanese surname. It shares the same character as the Chinese surname Lin. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese s ...

* 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 * 43. Higashikuni * 44. Shidehara * 45. Yoshida I

(R) The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or word ...

Under 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. ;Occupation period, multi-party system * 46. Katayama * 47. Ashida * 48. Yoshida II * 49. Yoshida III (R1) (R2) (R3) * 50. Yoshida IV * 51. Yoshida V * 52. I. Hatoyama I * 53. I. Hatoyama II ;LDP dominance * 54. I. Hatoyama III * 55. Ishibashi * 56. Kishi I

* 57. Kishi II

* 58. Ikeda I * 59. Ikeda II (R1) (R2) (R3) * 60. Ikeda III

* 61. Satō I (R1) (R2) (R3) * 62. Satō II (R1) (R2) * 63. Satō III

* 64. K. Tanaka I * 65. K. Tanaka II (R1) (R2) * 66.

Miki Miki may refer to: Places *Miki, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Kagawa, a town in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan *Miki, Azerbaijan, a village in Astara Rayon, Azerbaijan People *Miki (given name) *Miki (surname) *Miki Núñez (born ...

* 67. T. Fukuda (R) * 68. Ōhira I * 69. Ōhira II * 70. Z. Suzuki

* 71. Nakasone I * 72. Nakasone II (R1) (R2) * 73. Nakasone III * 74. Takeshita

* 75. Uno * 76. Kaifu I * 77. Kaifu II

* 78. Miyazawa

;"Lost decades" coalition cabinets * 79. Hosokawa * 80. Hata * 81. Murayama

* 82. Hashimoto I * 83. Hashimoto II

* 84. Obuchi (R1) (R2) * 85. Mori I * 86. Mori II (R1) (R2) * 87. Koizumi I (R1) (R2) * 88. Koizumi II

* 89. Koizumi III

* 90. S. Abe I

* 91. Y. Fukuda

* 92. Asō * 93. Y. Hatoyama * 94. Kan (R1) (R2) * 95.

Noda NoDa (short for "North Davidson") is a popular arts district in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is located in the North Charlotte neighborhood on and around North Davidson Street and 36th Street, approximately one mile northeast of Upt ...

(R1) (R2) (R3) * 96. S. Abe II

* 97. S. Abe III (R1) (R2) (R3) * 98. S. Abe IV (R1) (R2) * 99.

Suga Suga may refer to: * Suga, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Suga language, a language of Cameroon * Suga (rapper) (born 1993), South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer * ''Suga'' (EP), 2020 EP by Megan Thee Stallion * ''Sug ...

* 100. Kishida I * 101. Kishida II

Current cabinet

References

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

. "Cabinet Profiles" ince 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 o 1980

External links

Official Website of the prime minister of Japan and His Cabinet
(in Japanese)

(in English) * ttps://www.cao.go.jp/index-e.html Cabinet Officebr>Cabinet Secretariat
(in Japanese only)
Cabinet Legislation Bureau

Notes

{{Authority control Government of Japan