The is the chief executive body of the

government of Japan The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...

. It consists of the

prime minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, who is appointed by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

after being nominated by the National Diet, in addition to up to nineteen other members, called ministers of state. The current cabinet, the Second Ishiba Cabinet, was formed on 11 November 2024 and is led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The country has had a Liberal Democratic– Komeito coalition cabinet (

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

) since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. 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 A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

is adopted by the National Diet.

Appointment

Under the

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

, 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

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

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

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

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

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, 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. File:Kantei PM Japan Residence.jpg, The

Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei The Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (内閣総理大臣官邸) or Prime Minister's Office is the official workplace of the Prime Minister of Japan. It is commonly referred to as , or simply . Unlike many other famous offices or palaces of heads of s ...

(Prime Minister's Office of Japan) is where the Cabinet is located. File:Go-shichi no kiri crest 2.svg, The Paulownia Seal is routinely considered to be the symbol of the Japanese prime minister, cabinet, as well as the government at large. File:内閣印.png, The official seal of the Japanese Cabinet

Powers exercised via the Emperor

* Promulgation of amendment of the constitution,

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

, cabinet orders, and

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

* Convocation of the National Diet * Dissolution of the

* Proclamation of general elections to the National Diet * Receiving of foreign

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

s 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

Current 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. the makeup of the current Cabinet is as follows:

Citations

General and cited references

"Cabinet Profiles"
ince 2008 ''

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 ...

''. Accessed 13 October 2012.
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)

* ttps://www.cao.go.jp/index-e.html Cabinet Office
Cabinet Secretariat

Cabinet Legislation Bureau
{{Authority control Cabinet of Japan Government of Japan