The First Abe Cabinet governed Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

from September 2006 to September 2007. The government was a coalition between the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and the

Komeito , formerly New Komeito (NKP) and commonly referred to as simply Komei, is a political party in Japan founded by the leader of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, in 1964. It is generally considered centrist and socially conservative. Since 2012, i ...

and controlled both the upper and lower houses of the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

.The cabinet faced policy issues regarding government debts and the shrinking population. At a joint press conference

Hakuo Yanagisawa is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He was the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan (2006–2007), and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 2009. His constituency was Shizuoka Prefecture 3rd District. I ...

, who was appointed Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, spoke to a number of issues including reform of the Social Insurance Agency, measures against the decline in the birthrate, the unification of the Employees Pension Plan and the Mutual Pension Plan for public servants, and revision of labor-related laws. At the onset Prime Minister Abe's approval rating was 70%, but dropped to 30% prior to the 2007

House of Councilors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...

election, which resulted in the LDP losing the Upper House to the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to Centre-left politics, centre-left, Liberalism, liberal or Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Japan, ...

and becoming the second party for the first time in its history. Abe subsequently resigned, citing health reasons. Abe was criticized for not explaining his thinking enough to show where Japan was going.

Background

Abe was elected to the House of Representatives in 1993, and by 1999 was serving as Director of the Committee on Health and Welfare, and as Director of the Social Affairs Division of the Liberal Democratic Party. In 2003, Abe was elected Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party, and two years later became Chief Cabinet Secretary. Abe took office as the first Japanese Prime Minister born in the postwar period.

Election of the prime minister

Abe succeeded Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...

. He maintained Koizumi's emphasis on the U.S.-Japan alliance as the basis of national defense, but he wanted Japan to be a more equal partner. One goal of his administration was to revise Japan's constitution to normalize the use of military force.

Lists of ministers

R = Member of 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 ...

C = Member of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

Cabinet

Abe announced his Cabinet on September 26, 2006. The largest Mori faction in the Liberal Democratic Party received the most appointments.

Changes

* December 28, 2006 – Regulatory Reform

Genichiro Sata is a former Japanese politician who served in the House of Representatives as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Political career He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 representing the former Gunma 1st constitue ...

resigned and was replaced by

Yoshimi Watanabe is a former Japanese politician. He was formerly a member of the Liberal Democratic Party and later the founder of Your Party, after which he became a member of Nippon Ishin no Kai until 2019 when he then became an independent politician. He wa ...

. * January 9, 2007 – A new position of Defense Minister was created,

Fumio Kyūma is a Japanese politician who was a member of the Diet of Japan between 1980 and 2009. Kyuma graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1964 and worked for the Ministry of Agriculture. He was elected to the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly in 1971 s ...

was appointed the inaugural minister. * May 28, 2007 – Agriculture Minister

Toshikatsu Matsuoka was a Japanese politician who served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries from 2006 until his suicide in 2007 amid a financial scandal. Early life and education He was born in Aso, Kumamoto, Kyūshū on 25 February 1945. His ...

committed suicide and was replaced by

Norihiko Akagi is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Makabe District, Ibaraki and graduate of the University of Tokyo, he worked ...

. * July 3, 2007 – Defense Minister

resigned and was replaced by

Yuriko Koike Yuriko Koike (小池百合子, Koike Yuriko; born 15 July 1952) is a Japanese politician who has served as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. Previously, she was also served as a member of the House of Councillors from 1992 to 1993, a member o ...

. * August 1, 2007 – Agriculture Minister

committed suicide and was replaced by

Masatoshi Wakabayashi was a Japanese politician who was a member of Liberal Democratic Party. Political career Wakabayashi became the third Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries appointed in Shinzō Abe's first cabinet after Toshikatsu Matsuoka kille ...

Reshuffled cabinet

Changes

* September 3, 2007 – Agriculture Minister

Takehiko Endo was a Japanese politician who was a member of Liberal Democratic Party, serving in the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. Early life Endo was a native of Yonezawa, Yamagata and graduated from Chuo University in Tokyo. Politica ...

resigned and was replaced by his immediate predecessor

References

External links

Pages at the Kantei (English website):
Abe Administration

{{DEFAULTSORT:First Abe Cabinet Shinzo Abe Cabinet of Japan 2006 establishments in Japan 2007 disestablishments in Japan Cabinets established in 2006 Cabinets disestablished in 2007