Editing Prime Minister of Japan

{{short description|Head of government of Japan}}
{{for|a list of officeholders|List of prime ministers of Japan}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Prime Minister
| body = Japan
| native_name = {{lang|ja|日本国内閣総理大臣}}
| insignia = Emblem of the Prime Minister of Japan.svg
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = Emblem of the Prime Minister of Japan
| insigniaalt = 
| flag = Standard of the Prime Minister of Japan.svg
| flagsize = 
| flagalt = 
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = Standard of the Prime Minister of Japan
| image = Ishiba_Shigeru_20241001_(cropped).jpg
| imagesize = 210px
| alt = 
| imagecaption = 
| incumbent = [[Shigeru Ishiba]]
| acting = 
| incumbentsince = 1 October 2024
| department = [[Government of Japan|Executive branch of the Japanese government]]<br />[[Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei|Office of the Prime Minister]]
| style = ''[[Prime Minister|Naikaku sōridaijin]]<br />{{small|(formal)}}<br > [[His Excellency]]<br />{{small|(formal and diplomatic)}} <br > Shushō <br />{{small|(informal and during Party debates)}}<br> Sōri<br />{{small|(informal)}}''
| type = {{plainlist|
* [[Head of government]]
* [[Commander-in-chief]]
}}
| status = 
| abbreviation = 
| member_of = [[Cabinet of Japan|Cabinet]]<br />[[National Security Council (Japan)|National Security Council]]<br />[[National Diet]]
| reports_to = 
| residence = [[Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei]]
| seat = [[Tokyo]]
| nominator = [[National Diet]]
| appointer = [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]]
| appointer_qualified = 
| termlength = No fixed term length,
| termlength_qualified = renewable indefinitely.{{efn|The Cabinet shall resign en masse after a general election of members of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]. Their term of office is four years which can be terminated earlier. No limits are imposed on the number of terms or tenures the Prime Minister may hold. The Prime Minister is, by convention, the leader of the victorious party, though some prime ministers have been elected from junior coalition partners or minority parties.}}
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Japan]]
| precursor = [[Daijō-daijin]] of [[Japan]]
| formation = {{start date and age|1885|12|22|df=yes}}
| first = [[Itō Hirobumi]]
| last = 
| abolished = 
| superseded_by = 
| succession = 
| unofficial_names = 
| deputy = [[Deputy Prime Minister of Japan|Deputy Prime Minister]]
| salary = [[Japanese yen|¥]]40,490,000/<br>USD$ 257,597 annually<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO63843690V10C20A9000000/|title=首相は4049万円、閣僚の給料は安い？高い？ 菅内閣誕生ドキュメント|language=Japanese|publisher=[[The Nikkei]]|date=2020-09-16|accessdate=2022-05-20}}</ref>
| website = {{Official Website|https://japan.kantei.go.jp/}}
| footnotes = 
}}
{{Politics of Japan}}

The {{nihongo|'''prime minister of Japan'''|内閣総理大臣|Naikaku Sōri-Daijin|lead=yes}} 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-Defense Forces|Japan Self Defence Forces]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Arts/Book-review-A-nuanced-deep-dive-on-Japan-s-Self-Defense-Forces | title=Book review: A nuanced deep dive on Japan's Self-Defense Forces }}</ref> and is a sitting member of either house of the [[National Diet]] (typically the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]). 

The [[Emperor of Japan|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|Chiyoda]], [[Tokyo]], close to the [[National Diet Building]]. 

[[List of prime ministers of Japan|Sixty-five men]] have served as prime minister, the first of whom was [[Itō Hirobumi]] taking office on 22 December 1885. The [[List of prime ministers of Japan by time in office|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 (Japan) presidential election|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 (government)|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>{{Cite web |last=字通,世界大百科事典内言及 |first=日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ),旺文社世界史事典 三訂版,精選版 日本国語大辞典,デジタル大辞泉,世界大百科事典 第２版,普及版 |title=宰相とは |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%AE%B0%E7%9B%B8-507759 |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=コトバンク |language=ja}}</ref>

=== English notation ===
The official [[English language|English]] rendering is 'Prime Minister'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=内閣官房組織等英文名称一覧｜内閣官房ホームページ |url=https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/gaiyou/eibun/index.html |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=www.cas.go.jp}}</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 [[Germany|German]] translation, '[[Minister-president|Minister President of the State']], was also used in the past.

== History ==
[[File:ITŌ_Hirobumi.jpg|thumb|[[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 [[meritocracy|meritocratic]] bureaucracy, serving, in theory, under the ultimate authority of the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]]; although in practice, real power was often held elsewhere, such as in the hands of the [[Fujiwara clan]], who intermarried with the [[Imperial House of Japan|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>{{Cite journal |last=Osamu |first=Ryoichi |date=May 2021 |title=POLITICAL CHANGING FOR PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351392992 |journal=International Journal of Law Reconstruction}}</ref>

Under this system, the {{Nihongo|''[[Daijō-daijin]]''|太政大臣||Chancellor of the Realm}}<ref>''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, {{ISBN|4-7674-2015-6}}</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: [https://archive.today/20130906090856/http://dajokan.ndl.go.jp/SearchSys/Details.pl?ID=01701439&FLKEY=0026561378456292 Dajōkan proclamation No. 69 of 22 December 1885 (内閣職権, ''naikaku shokken'')], later replaced by [http://hourei.ndl.go.jp/SearchSys/viewEnkaku.do?i=gaKY08sYF4fjXji9%2fGm3mg%3d%3d Imperial edict No. 135 of 1889 (内閣官制, ''naikaku kansei'')] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200917/http://hourei.ndl.go.jp/SearchSys/viewEnkaku.do?i=gaKY08sYF4fjXji9%2FGm3mg%3D%3D |date=March 3, 2016 }} 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]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130202085442/http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/cabinet_system/index.html Cabinet System of Japan]</ref> It took its current form with the adoption of the [[Constitution of Japan]] in 1947.

To date, [[List of prime ministers of Japan|sixty-five men]] have served this position. The [[List of prime ministers of Japan by time in office|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">{{cite news |title=Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially resigns |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shinzo-abe-japanese-prime-minister-and-cabinet-resign-2020-09-15/ |work=CBSNews |agency=AP |date=16 September 2020}}</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 [[National Diet|Diet]], before the conduct of any other business. For that purpose, each conducts a ballot under the [[Two-round system|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>{{cite constitution |article=67 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</ref> The nominee is then presented with his or her commission, and formally [[Imperial Investiture|appointed]] to office by the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]] at the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]].<ref>{{cite constitution |article=6 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</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 government]]s (most recently the [[Hata Cabinet]] in 1994 and at least numerically the [[Second Hashimoto Cabinet]] of 1996 during its first year, but with an [[Confidence and supply|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 [[Democratic Party of Japan|DPJ]]-led cabinets, [[Kan Cabinet|Kan]] and [[Noda Cabinet]]s after the [[2010 Japanese House of Councillors election|2010 upper house election]]; cf. ''Nejire Kokkai''/"twisted Diets").{{cn|date=November 2023}}

==Qualifications==
* Must be a member of either house of the [[National Diet|Diet]]. (This implies a minimum age of 25 and a Japanese nationality requirement.)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The Constitution of Japan – Japanese/English – Japanese Law Translation |url=https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/174#je_ch5at1 |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp}}</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>{{cite constitution |article=5 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</ref>
* Presents bills to the Diet on behalf of the [[Cabinet of Japan|Cabinet]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite constitution |article=72 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</ref>
* Signs laws and Cabinet orders (along with other members of the Cabinet).<ref>{{cite constitution |article=74 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</ref>
* Appoints all Cabinet ministers, and can dismiss them at any time.<ref>{{cite constitution |article=68 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</ref>
* May permit legal action to be taken against Cabinet ministers.<ref>{{cite constitution |article=75 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</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>{{cite constitution |article=63 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</ref>
* May advise the emperor to dissolve the House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite constitution |article=7 |polity=Japan |date=1947}}</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==
<gallery class="center">
File:Standard of the Prime Minister of Japan.svg|Standard of the Prime Minister
File:Emblem of the Prime Minister of Japan.svg|[[Government Emblem of Japan|Seal of the Prime Minister]]
File:Go-shichi no kiri crest 2.svg|Mon (crest) of the Prime Minister
</gallery>

==Official office and residence==
[[File:Kantei PM Japan Residence.jpg|thumb|220px|right|[[Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei]], the Prime Minister's Office of Japan]]
{{Main|Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei}}

Located near the Diet building, the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan is called the {{Nihongo|''[[Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei]]''|内閣総理大臣官邸}}. The original Kantei served from 1929 until 2002, when a new building was inaugurated to serve as the current Kantei.<ref>{{cite news |first=Hiroko |last=Nakata |title=The prime minister's official hub |date=March 6, 2007 |publisher=The Japan Times |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070306i1.html |work=The Japan Times Online |access-date=October 21, 2007 }}</ref> The old Kantei was then converted into the Official Residence, or {{Nihongo|''Kōtei''|公邸}}.<ref name="kantei">{{cite web|url=http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/vt2/main/07/photo-koutei01.html |title=A virtual tour of the former Kantei – Annex etc. – The Residential Area |access-date=October 21, 2007 |publisher=Prime Minister of Japan }}</ref> The Kōtei lies to the southwest of the Kantei, and is linked by a walkway.<ref name="kantei" />

== Travel ==
{{Main|Japanese Air Force One}}
{{See also|Prime Minister's Official Car (Japan)}}
The prime minister of Japan travels in a [[Toyota Century]]. The Lexus [[Lexus LS (XF40)#LS 600h|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>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-24 |title=安倍首相の車が新型センチュリーに変更！総理大臣専用車の謎に迫る｜FNNプライムオンライン |url=https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/35965 |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=FNNプライムオンライン}}</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 of Japan|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 {{Nihongo|Japanese government exclusive aircraft|日本国政府専用機|Nippon-koku seifu sen'yōki}}.<ref>[http://www.newsweekjapan.jp/reizei/2011/02/post-264.php 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>

<gallery class="center">
File:Toyota Century 3rd generation 2017 Tokyo Motor Show front 1.jpg|[[Toyota Century]]
File:JASDF B777-300ER 80-1111 (4).jpg|[[Japanese Air Force One]]
</gallery>

==Retirement honours and emoluments==
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 500
| perrow            = 6/6
| image1            = Press Conference by Fumio Kishida 20240814 2 (cropped).jpg
| image2            = Yokohama International Film Festival 2024 Suga Yoshihide (53869021736).jpg
| image3            = Yosuke Suzuki with Yoshihiko Noda 2024-10-20(3) (cropped).jpg
| image4            = Kan Naoto (2016).jpg
| image5            = Yukio Hatoyama 20220224 (cropped 2).jpg
| image6            = Tarō Asō 20170920 (cropped 2).jpg
| image7            = Joseph Young and Former PM Yasuo Fukuda 2021 (cropped).jpg
| image8            = Koizumi 2010 cropped.png
| footer            = All eleven current living former Japanese prime ministers, [[Fumio Kishida]] (''top left''), [[Yoshihide Suga]], [[Yoshihiko Noda]], [[Naoto Kan]], [[Yukio Hatoyama]], [[Tarō Asō]], [[Yasuo Fukuda]] (''bottom left''), [[Junichiro Koizumi]], [[Yoshirō Mori]], [[Tomiichi Murayama]] and [[Morihiro Hosokawa]].
| image9            = Yoshirō Mori (2019).jpg
| image10            = Tomiichi Murayama cropped 2 Tomiichi Murayama 19940630.jpg
| image11            = Morihiro Hosokawa cropped 2 Morihiro Hosokawa 19930809.jpg
| link11             = Morihiro Hosokawa
| link10             = Tomiichi Murayama
| link9             = Yoshirō Mori
| link8             = Junichiro Koizumi
| link7             = Yasuo Fukuda
| link6             = Tarō Asō
| link5             = Yukio Hatoyama
| link4             = Naoto Kan
| link3             = Yoshihiko Noda
| link2             = Yoshihide Suga
| link1            = Fumio Kishida
}}
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>{{Cite press release|date=11 July 2022|url=https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/tyoukanpress/202207/11_p.html|script-title=ja:Conferment of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Juichii (Junior First Rank) and conferment of the Order of the Chrysanthemum and the Grand Cordon of the Chrysanthemum|trans-title=Regarding the awarding of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the first rank and the awarding of the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum and Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum|website=kantei.go.jp|publisher=Prime Minister's Office of Japan|access-date=12 July 2022|archive-date=11 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711141137/https://www.kantei.go.jp/jp/tyoukanpress/202207/11_p.html|url-status=live}}</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 [[Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize|Prime Minister's Trophy]] on behalf of the Japan Professional Sports Association and the Monodzukuri Nippon award on behalf of the Japanese Manufacturing Association.

==See also==
* [[List of prime ministers of Japan]]
* [[List of spouses of prime ministers of Japan]]
* [[Air transports of heads of state and government#Japan|Air transports of heads of state and government]]
* [[Official state car#Japan|Official state car]]
* [[Japanese Air Force One]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
* ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991, {{ISBN|4-7674-2015-6}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Prime ministers of Japan}}
* [https://japan.kantei.go.jp/ Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet] Official website
* [http://www.geocities.co.jp/WallStreet-Bull/6515/rekidaiNaikaku.htm List of Japanese cabinets 1885 to 1989]　{{in lang|ja}}

{{Japan topics}}
{{Prime Ministers of Japan}}
{{Prime Minister}}
{{Heads of state and government of Asia}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister Of Japan}}
[[Category:Politics of Japan]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Japan| ]]
[[Category:1885 establishments in Japan]]