Prime Minister of Japan

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The Template:Nihongo is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is a sitting member of either house of the National Diet (typically the House of Representatives).

The emperor appoints as prime minister the person who is nominated by the National Diet (the parliament). The prime minister must retain the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. The prime minister lives and works at the Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence) in Nagatachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, close to the National Diet Building.

Sixty-five men have served as prime minister, the first of whom was Itō Hirobumi taking office on 22 December 1885. The longest-serving prime minister was Shinzo Abe, who served over eight years, and the shortest-serving was Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, who served fifty-four days. The current prime minister is Shigeru Ishiba, who succeeded Fumio Kishida on 1 October 2024, following the 2024 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.

Designation

Abbreviations

In Japanese, due to the special nature of the work of the head of government, the prime minister's titles vary depending on context, sometimes demonstrating his/her role. Since the inception of the cabinet system, the prime minister is known in Japanese as Naikaku Sōri-Daijin (内閣総理大臣) whenever he is referred to as the head of the Cabinet. However, this title is usually abbreviated to Sōri-Daijin (総理大臣). Other abbreviations include Sōri (総理), Shushō (首相) or even Saishō (宰相).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

English notation

The official English rendering is 'Prime Minister'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This English translation was informally used as the English translation of 'Grand Minister' before the introduction of the cabinet system. However, this was not the original English translation of 'Prime Minister', and a German translation, 'Minister President of the State', was also used in the past.

History

File:ITŌ Hirobumi.jpg

Itō Hirobumi, the first Prime Minister of Japan

Before the adoption of the Meiji Constitution, Japan had in practice no written constitution. Originally, a Chinese-inspired legal system known as ritsuryō was enacted in the late Asuka period and early Nara period. It described a government based on an elaborate and rational meritocratic bureaucracy, serving, in theory, under the ultimate authority of the emperor; although in practice, real power was often held elsewhere, such as in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, who intermarried with the imperial family in the Heian period, or by the ruling shōgun. Theoretically, the last ritsuryō code, the Yōrō Code enacted in 752, was still in force at the time of the Meiji Restoration.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Under this system, the Template:Nihongo<ref>Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Template:ISBN</ref> was the head of the Daijō-kan (Department of State), the highest organ of Japan's pre-modern Imperial government during the Heian period and until briefly under the Meiji Constitution with the appointment of Sanjō Sanetomi in 1871. The office was replaced in 1885 with the appointment of Itō Hirobumi to the new position of Minister President of State,<ref>Legal framework for Prime Minister and Cabinet in the Empire: Dajōkan proclamation No. 69 of 22 December 1885 (内閣職権, naikaku shokken), later replaced by Imperial edict No. 135 of 1889 (内閣官制, naikaku kansei) Template:Webarchive in effect until 1947</ref> four years before the enactment of the Meiji Constitution, which mentions neither the Cabinet nor the position of Prime Minister explicitly.<ref>Article 55 of the Imperial Constitution only bound the ministers of state, i.e. all members of the cabinet including the prime minister, to "give their advice to the Emperor and be responsible for it."</ref><ref>Kantei: Cabinet System of Japan</ref> It took its current form with the adoption of the Constitution of Japan in 1947.

To date, sixty-five men have served this position. The longest-serving prime minister to date is Shinzo Abe, who served in two non-consecutive terms for 8 years, 267 days: from 26 September 2006 until 26 September 2007, and from 26 December 2012 until 16 September 2020.<ref name="CBS-Abe-off-resigns">Template:Cite news</ref> The shortest-serving prime minister to date is Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, who served for fifty-four days: from 17 August until 9 October 1945.

Appointment

The prime minister is nominated by both houses of the Diet, before the conduct of any other business. For that purpose, each conducts a ballot under the run-off system. If the two houses choose different individuals, then a joint committee of both houses is appointed to agree on a common nominee. Ultimately, however, if the two houses do not agree, the decision of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of the Diet. If the House of Councillors does not make a nomination within 10 days of the House of Representatives' nomination, the House of Representatives' nomination becomes the Diet's decision. Therefore, the House of Representatives can theoretically ensure the appointment of any prime minister it wants.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref> The nominee is then presented with his or her commission, and formally appointed to office by the emperor at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>

Conventionally, the prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. But there have been three cabinet prime ministers from junior coalition partners (Hitoshi Ashida: 1948, Morihiro Hosokawa: 1993 and Tomiichi Murayama: 1994), a few minority governments (most recently the Hata Cabinet in 1994 and at least numerically the Second Hashimoto Cabinet of 1996 during its first year, but with an extra-cabinet cooperation (閣外協力, kakugai kyōryoku) agreement with two parties, sufficient to ensure safe majorities for most government initiatives), and several cabinets with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without legislative majority of their own (most recently the DPJ-led cabinets, Kan and Noda Cabinets after the 2010 upper house election; cf. Nejire Kokkai/"twisted Diets").Template:Cn

Qualifications

Must be a member of either house of the Diet. (This implies a minimum age of 25 and a Japanese nationality requirement.)<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
Must be a civilian. This excludes serving members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Former military persons may be appointed, with Yasuhiro Nakasone being one prominent example.<ref name=":0" />

Role

Constitutional roles

Exercises "control and supervision" over the entire executive branch.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>
Presents bills to the Diet on behalf of the Cabinet.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite constitution</ref>
Signs laws and Cabinet orders (along with other members of the Cabinet).<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>
Appoints all Cabinet ministers, and can dismiss them at any time.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>
May permit legal action to be taken against Cabinet ministers.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>
Must make reports on domestic and foreign relations to the Diet.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Must report to the Diet upon demand to provide answers or explanations.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>
May advise the emperor to dissolve the House of Representatives.<ref>Template:Cite constitution</ref>

Statutory roles

Presides over meetings of the Cabinet.<ref>Cabinet Act2012, article 4</ref>
Commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.<ref>Self-Defense Forces Act of 1954</ref>
May override a court injunction against an administrative act upon showing of cause.<ref>Administrative Litigation Act, article 27</ref>

Unlike most of his counterparts in constitutional monarchies, the prime minister is both de jure and de facto chief executive. In most other constitutional monarchies, the monarch is at least nominal chief executive, while being bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. In contrast, the Constitution of Japan explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the prime minister is the leader; this greatly enhances the prime minister's position compared to prime ministers in other parliamentary democracies. His countersignature is required for all laws and Cabinet orders. While most ministers in parliamentary democracies have some freedom of action within the bounds of cabinet collective responsibility, the Japanese Cabinet is effectively an extension of the prime minister's authority.

Insignia

Standard of the Prime Minister

Standard of the Prime Minister
Seal of the Prime Minister

Seal of the Prime Minister
Mon (crest) of the Prime Minister

Mon (crest) of the Prime Minister

Official office and residence

File:Kantei PM Japan Residence.jpg

Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei, the Prime Minister's Office of Japan

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Located near the Diet building, the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan is called the Template:Nihongo. The original Kantei served from 1929 until 2002, when a new building was inaugurated to serve as the current Kantei.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The old Kantei was then converted into the Official Residence, or Template:Nihongo.<ref name="kantei">Template:Cite web</ref> The Kōtei lies to the southwest of the Kantei, and is linked by a walkway.<ref name="kantei" />

Travel

Template:Main Template:See also The prime minister of Japan travels in a Toyota Century. The Lexus LS 600h L, which served as the prime minister's official car from 2008 to 2019, became a spare/alternative vehicle used by the Prime Minister till present.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

For overseas air travel, the Japanese government maintains two Boeing 777, which replaced the Boeing 747-400 also in 2019. The aircraft is also used by the emperor, the members of the imperial family, and other high-ranking officials.

They have the radio callsigns Japanese Air Force One and Japanese Air Force Two when operating on official business, and Cygnus One and Cygnus Two when operating outside of official business (e.g., on training flights). The aircraft always fly together on government missions, with one serving as the primary transport and the other serving as a backup with maintenance personnel on board. The aircraft are officially referred to as Template:Nihongo.<ref>政府専用機にそもそも「専用機材」は必要なのか？, Newsweek Japan, Feb 25, 2011.</ref>

Retirement honours and emoluments

Template:Multiple image Until the mid-1930s, the prime minister of Japan was normally granted a hereditary peerage (kazoku) prior to leaving office if he had not already been ennobled. Titles were usually bestowed in the ranks of count, viscount or baron, depending on the relative accomplishments and status of the prime minister. The two highest ranks, marquess and prince, were only bestowed upon highly distinguished statesmen, and were not granted to a prime minister after 1928. The last prime minister who was a peer was Baron Kijūrō Shidehara, who served as Prime Minister from October 1945 to May 1946. The peerage was abolished when the Constitution of Japan came into effect in May 1947.

Certain eminent prime ministers have been awarded the Order of the Chrysanthemum, typically in the degree of Grand Cordon. The highest honour in the Japanese honours system, the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, has only been conferred upon select prime ministers and eminent statesmen; the last such award to a living prime minister was to Saionji Kinmochi in 1928. More often, the Order of the Chrysanthemum has been a posthumous distinction; both the Collar and Grand Cordon of the order were last awarded posthumously to former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

After relinquishing office, the prime minister is normally accorded the second or senior third rank in the court order of precedence, and is usually raised to the senior second rank posthumously. Certain distinguished prime ministers have been posthumously raised to the first rank; the last such award was to Eisaku Sato in 1975. Since the 1920s, following their tenure in office, Prime ministers have typically been conferred with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (until 2003 a special higher class of the Order of the Rising Sun), depending on tenure and eminence. However, honours may be withheld due to misconduct or refusal on the part of the prime minister (for example, Kiichi Miyazawa).

The Prime Minister also awards individuals in recognition of their accomplishments in sport, entertainment, and other fields. Some of the awards and commendations offered include the Prime Minister's Award, created by Eisaku Satō in 1966, and the People's Honour Award, created by Takeo Fukuda in 1977. Additionally, the PM also presents the Prime Minister's Trophy on behalf of the Japan Professional Sports Association and the Monodzukuri Nippon award on behalf of the Japanese Manufacturing Association.