The Obuchi Cabinet governed Japan from July 1998 to April 2000 under the leadership of Prime Minister

Keizō Obuchi was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1998 to 2000. Born in Gunma Prefecture, Obuchi graduated from Waseda University and was first elected to the National Diet in 1963, becoming one of the youngest legislators i ...

, who took office after winning 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 ...

leadership. Initially a continued LDP single-party government without legislative majority in parliament on its own after the 1998 election, it expanded to become a coalition involving first the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and then the

New 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, it ha ...

over the course of its term. The government focused on economic revival, with former Prime Minister

Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. Born in Tokyo, Miyazawa graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a law degree, and in 1942 joined the Ministry of Finance. He was first elected to the Nati ...

recalled to the position of Finance Minister, and introduced policies designed to stimulate the economy through tax cuts and public spending increases. Obuchi reshuffled his cabinet twice, firstly in January 1999 after having negotiated a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party. This did not bring about any major change in personnel other than to bring Liberal

Takeshi Noda is a former Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). Background and career A native of Tokyo and graduate of the University of Tokyo h ...

into government as Home Minister, and reduce the number of ministers by doubling up portfolios. The second reshuffle in October 1999 was a more substantial reconstruction, and took place following Obuchi's re-election as LDP president. At the same time, the coalition expanded again to include the New Komeito, beginning the long-running LDP-NKP partnership. The coalition continued until April 2000 when Liberal Leader

Ichirō Ozawa is a Japanese politician and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1969, representing the Iwate 3rd district (Iwate 2nd district prior to the 1996 general election and Iwate 4th district prior to the 2017 general election). H ...

decided to withdraw from the arrangement, causing a section of the Liberal Party to break away and form the New Conservative Party, which remained in the government. The Obuchi cabinet ended in early April 2000 when Obuchi fell into a coma after suffering a serious, and ultimately fatal stroke. With the Prime Minister unable to discharge his duties, Chief Cabinet Secretary

Mikio Aoki Mikio Aoki (, Hepburn: ; 8 June 1934 – 11 June 2023) was a Japanese politician who served as the Chief Cabinet Secretary from 1999 to 2000, and was briefly acting prime minister following Keizō Obuchi's coma. A member of the Liberal Democrat ...

served as Acting Prime Minister for several days, until the cabinet determined to resign and

Yoshirō Mori is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2000 to 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, bot ...

was chosen to replace Obuchi.

Election of the prime minister

Obuchi's election demonstrated how the Diet was divided following the 1998 upper house election. In 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 ...

, Obuchi was elected on the first ballot, however the first ballot in 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 ...

did not produce a majority for any candidate. In the subsequent runoff vote, opposition leader

Naoto Kan is a Japanese former politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) from June 2010 to September 2011. Kan was the first Prime Minister since the resignation of Junichiro Koizumi in 2006 to ...

won with the support of all opposition parties allied against the LDP. This did not affect Obuchi's appointment as Prime Minister, as the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

stipulates that in such a scenario, the will of the lower house prevails.

Ministers

R = Member of the

C = Member of the

Cabinet

Changes

* October 23 -

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 ...

the Director of the National Land Agency was moved to become the Minister of State for Financial Reconstruction (which later became the Chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission) and was replaced with Yoshio Inoue, who doubled up as Hokkaido and Okinawa development minister. * November 21 -

Fukushiro Nukaga is a Japanese politician who is serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Japan), Speaker of the House of Representatives since October 2023. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party, he has been a ...

resigned as Defence Minister due to a corruption scandal, he was replaced with Hosei Norota.

First reshuffled cabinet

Changes

* March 8, 1999 - Minister of Justice

Shozaburo Nakamura was a Japanese business leader and politician. He served in the House of Representatives of Japan and was the Minister of Justice from 1998 to 1999. Early life and career Shozaburo Nakamura was born in 1934. He was a business leader. He served ...

resigned over a controversy relating to actor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

being allowed to enter Japan without a passport, and was replaced by

Takao Jinnouchi is a former Japanese bureaucrat and politician who was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He served as the Minister of Justice in 1999. Career Jinnouchi worked as a bureaucrat in the construction ministry. He was a member of the L ...

Second reshuffled cabinet

Changes

* February 25, 2000 - Chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission Michio Ochi resigned following controversial comments he made related to regulation and inspection of banks. He was replaced by

Sadakazu Tanigaki is a Japanese politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2017, as Minister of Finance from 2003 to 2006, as President of the Liberal Democratic Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2012, as Minis ...

. * April 1, 2000 - Coalition negotiations between the

and the LDP broke down leading to the party pulling out of the coalition. This caused a split, with some Liberals wishing to remain in government. * April 2, 2000 - Prime Minister Obuchi suffered a debilitating stroke and fell into a coma. Chief Cabinet Secretary

assumed his duties as Acting Prime Minister until April 5 when LDP Secretary-general Yoshiro Mori was appointed as replacement Prime Minister. Obuchi died on May 14. * April 3, 2000 - The dissident Liberals launched the New Conservative Party under the leadership of

Chikage Oogi , real name (born ; 10 May 1933 – 9 March 2023), was a Japanese actress and politician. During her 30-year-long political career, she served in various important governmental posts, and became the first female President of the House of Council ...

, and remained in government under that banner, including Transport Minister

Toshihiro Nikai is a former Japanese politician for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leader of the LDP Shisuikai faction (informally called the Nikai faction), who served as the Secretary-General of the LDP from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the ...

References

External links

Lists of Ministers at the Kantei:
Obuchi Cabinet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obuchi Cabinet Cabinet of Japan 1998 establishments in Japan 2000 disestablishments in Japan Cabinets established in 1998 Cabinets disestablished in 2000