List of prime ministers of Japan

This is a historical list of individuals who have served as Prime Minister of Japan.

Multiple terms in office, consecutive or otherwise, are listed and counted in the first column (administration number) and the second column counts individuals. For example, Yasuo Fukuda, is listed as the 58th individual to hold the office of prime minister, whilst his first cabinet is the 91st since Hirobumi Itō.

To avoid confusion, all the names on this list follow the Western convention (given name first, family name second) for consistency.

19th century Prime Ministers

A#	I#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party
1	1	Hirobumi Itō	22 December 1885	30 April 1888	None
2	2	Kiyotaka Kuroda	30 April 1888	25 October 1889 ^[1]	None
		Sanetomi Sanjō ^[2]	25 October 1889	24 December 1889	None
3	3	Aritomo Yamagata	24 December 1889	6 May 1891	None
4	4	Masayoshi Matsukata	6 May 1891	8 August 1892	None
5		Hirobumi Itō 2nd term	8 August 1892	31 August 1896 ^[3]	None
During this interval, Privy Council Chairman Kiyotaka Kuroda was the Acting Prime Minister.
6		Masayoshi Matsukata 2nd term	18 September 1896	12 January 1898	None
7		Hirobumi Itō 3rd term	12 January 1898	30 June 1898	None
8	5	Shigenobu Ōkuma	30 June 1898	8 November 1898	Kenseitō
9		Aritomo Yamagata 2nd term	8 November 1898	19 October 1900	None

20th century Prime Ministers before and during WWII

A#	I#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Governing Party
10		Hirobumi Itō 4th term	19 October 1900	10 May 1901 ^[3]	Rikken Seiyūkai
During this interval, Privy Council Chairman Kinmochi Saionji was the Acting Prime Minister.
11	6	Tarō Katsura (Retired General)	2 June 1901	7 January 1906	None
12	7	Kinmochi Saionji	7 January 1906	14 July 1908	Rikken Seiyūkai
13		Tarō Katsura 2nd term (Retired General)	14 July 1908	30 August 1911	None
14		Kinmochi Saionji 2nd term	30 August 1911	21 December 1912	Rikken Seiyūkai
15		Tarō Katsura 3rd term (Retired General)	21 December 1912	20 February 1913	None
16	8	Gonbee Yamamoto (Retired Admiral)	20 February 1913	16 April 1914	Rikken Seiyūkai
17		Shigenobu Ōkuma 2nd term	16 April 1914	9 October 1916	Rikken Dōshikai
18	9	Masatake Terauchi Active service General	9 October 1916	29 September 1918	None
19	10	Takashi Hara	29 September 1918	4 November 1921 ^[4]	Rikken Seiyūkai
During this interval, Foreign Minister Yasuya Uchida was the Acting Prime Minister.
20	11	Korekiyo Takahashi	13 November 1921	12 June 1922	Rikken Seiyūkai
21	12	Tomosaburō Katō (Retired Admiral)	12 June 1922	24 August 1923 ^[5]	National union
During this interval, Foreign Minister Yasuya Uchida was the Acting Prime Minister.
22		Gonbee Yamamoto 2nd term (Retired Admiral)	2 September 1923	7 January 1924	National union
23	13	Keigo Kiyoura	7 January 1924	11 June 1924	None
24	14	Takaaki Katō	11 June 1924	2 August 1925 ^[6]	Kenseitō, Rikken Seiyūkai, and Kakushin Club
		Takaaki Katō	2 August 1925	28 January 1926 ^[5]	Kenseitō
During this interval, Interior Minister Reijirō Wakatsuki was the Acting Prime Minister.
25	15	Reijirō Wakatsuki	30 January 1926	20 April 1927	Kenseitō
26	16	Giichi Tanaka (Retired General)	20 April 1927	2 July 1929	Rikken Seiyūkai
27	17	Osachi Hamaguchi	2 July 1929	14 April 1931 ^[7]	Rikken Minseitō
28		Reijirō Wakatsuki 2nd term	14 April 1931	13 December 1931	Rikken Minseitō
29	18	Inukai Tsuyoshi	13 December 1931	16 May 1932 ^[4]	Rikken Seiyūkai
During this interval, Finance Minister Korekiyo Takahashi was the Acting Prime Minister.
30	19	Makoto Saitō (Retired Admiral)	26 May 1932	8 July 1934	National union
31	20	Keisuke Okada (Retired Admiral)	8 July 1934	9 March 1936 ^[8]	National union
32	21	Kōki Hirota	9 March 1936	2 February 1937	National union
33	22	Senjūrō Hayashi (Retired General)	2 February 1937	4 June 1937	National union
34	23	Fumimaro Konoe	4 June 1937	5 January 1939	National union
35	24	Kiichirō Hiranuma	5 January 1939	30 August 1939	National union
36	25	Nobuyuki Abe (Retired General)	30 August 1939	16 January 1940	National union
37	26	Mitsumasa Yonai (Retired Admiral)	16 January 1940	22 July 1940	National union
38		Fumimaro Konoe 2nd term	22 July 1940	18 July 1941	Taisei Yokusankai
39		Fumimaro Konoe 3rd term	18 July 1941	18 October 1941	Taisei Yokusankai
40	27	Hideki Tōjō Active service General	18 October 1941	22 July 1944	None
41	28	Kuniaki Koiso Active service General	22 July 1944	7 April 1945	None
42	29	Kantarō Suzuki (Retired Admiral)	7 April 1945	17 August 1945	National union

20th century Post-WWII Prime Ministers

A#	I#	Name	Portrait	Took Office	Left Office	Governing Party	Other Ministerial Offices Held
43	30	HIH Prince Naruhiko of Higashikuni		17 August 1945	9 October 1945	National union
44	31	Kijūrō Shidehara		9 October 1945	22 May 1946	National union
45	32	Shigeru Yoshida		22 May 1946	24 May 1947	Liberal
46	33	Tetsu Katayama		24 May 1947	10 March 1948	Socialist
47	34	Hitoshi Ashida		10 March 1948	15 October 1948	Democratic
48		Shigeru Yoshida 2nd term		15 October 1948	16 February 1949	Liberal
49		Shigeru Yoshida 3rd term		16 February 1949	30 October 1952	Liberal
50		Shigeru Yoshida 4th term		30 October 1952	21 May 1953	Liberal
51		Shigeru Yoshida 5th term		21 May 1953	10 December 1954	Liberal
52	35	Ichirō Hatoyama		10 December 1954	19 March 1955	Democratic
53		Ichirō Hatoyama 2nd term		19 March 1955	22 November 1955	Democratic
54		Ichirō Hatoyama 3rd term		22 November 1955	23 December 1956	Liberal Democratic
55	36	Tanzan Ishibashi		23 December 1956	25 February 1957 ^[9]	Liberal Democratic
56	37	Nobusuke Kishi	File:Nobusuke Kishi 1956.jpg	25 February 1957	12 June 1958	Liberal Democratic
57		Nobusuke Kishi 2nd term	File:Nobusuke Kishi 1956.jpg	12 June 1958	19 July 1960	Liberal Democratic
58	38	Hayato Ikeda	File:Hayato Ikeda 1956.jpg	19 July 1960	8 December 1960	Liberal Democratic
59		Hayato Ikeda 2nd term	File:Hayato Ikeda 1956.jpg	8 December 1960	9 December 1963	Liberal Democratic
60		Hayato Ikeda 3rd term	File:Hayato Ikeda 1956.jpg	9 December 1963	9 November 1964	Liberal Democratic
61	39	Eisaku Satō		9 November 1964	17 February 1967	Liberal Democratic	Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of Construction Minister of Finance
62		Eisaku Satō 2nd term		17 February 1967	14 January 1970	Liberal Democratic	Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of Construction Minister of Finance
63		Eisaku Satō 3rd term		14 January 1970	7 July 1972	Liberal Democratic	Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of Construction Minister of Finance
64	40	Kakuei Tanaka		7 July 1972	22 December 1972	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Minister of Finance
65		Kakuei Tanaka 2nd term		22 December 1972	9 December 1974	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Minister of Finance
66	41	Takeo Miki		9 December 1974	24 December 1976	Liberal Democratic
67	42	Takeo Fukuda		24 December 1976	7 December 1978	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister of Finance Minister of Foreign Affairs
68	43	Masayoshi Ōhira		7 December 1978	9 November 1979	Liberal Democratic
69		Masayoshi Ōhira 2nd term		9 November 1979	12 June 1980 ^[5]	Liberal Democratic
During this interval, Chief Cabinet Secretary Masayoshi Itō was the Acting Prime Minister.
70	44	Zenkō Suzuki		17 July 1980	27 November 1982	Liberal Democratic
71	45	Yasuhiro Nakasone		27 November 1982	27 December 1983	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Science Minister of Transport Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister of Administration
72		Yasuhiro Nakasone 2nd term		27 December 1983	22 July 1986	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Science Minister of Transport Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister of Administration
73		Yasuhiro Nakasone 3rd term		22 July 1986	6 November 1987	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Science Minister of Transport Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister of Administration
74	46	Noboru Takeshita		6 November 1987	3 June 1989	Liberal Democratic	Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of Construction Minister of Finance
75	47	Sōsuke Uno		3 June 1989	10 August 1989	Liberal Democratic
76	48	Toshiki Kaifu		10 August 1989	28 February 1990	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Education
77		Toshiki Kaifu 2nd term		28 February 1990	5 November 1991	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Education
78	49	Kiichi Miyazawa		5 November 1991	9 August 1993	Liberal Democratic	Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister of Foreign Affairs Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of Finance
79	50	Morihiro Hosokawa		9 August 1993	28 April 1994	Japan New
80	51	Tsutomu Hata	File:羽田孜.jpg	28 April 1994	30 June 1994	Renewal	Minister of Foreign Affairs
81	52	Tomiichi Murayama	File:G8-halifax-1995-01 cropped.jpg	30 June 1994	11 January 1996	Socialist
82	53	Ryūtarō Hashimoto		11 January 1996	7 November 1996	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Health and Welfare Minister of International Trade and Industry
83		Ryūtarō Hashimoto 2nd term		7 November 1996	30 July 1998	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Health and Welfare Minister of International Trade and Industry
84	54	Keizō Obuchi		30 July 1998	5 April 2000 ^[10]	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Foreign Affairs
85	55	Yoshirō Mori		5 April 2000	4 July 2000	Liberal Democratic

21st century Prime Ministers

A#	I#	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party	Other Ministerial Offices Held
86		Yoshirō Mori 2nd term	4 July 2000	26 April 2001	Liberal Democratic
87	56	Junichirō Koizumi	26 April 2001	19 November 2003	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Health and Welfare Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
88		Junichirō Koizumi 2nd term	19 November 2003	21 September 2005	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Health and Welfare Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
89		Junichirō Koizumi 3rd term	21 September 2005	26 September 2006	Liberal Democratic	Minister of Health and Welfare Minister of Posts and Telecommunications
90	57	Shinzō Abe	26 September 2006	26 September 2007	Liberal Democratic	Chief Cabinet Secretary
91	58	Yasuo Fukuda	26 September 2007	Incumbent	Liberal Democratic	Chief Cabinet Secretary

Notes and references

^ Upon the resignation of the government, the Emperor only accepted Kuroda’s resignation and invited Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Sanetomi Sanjō to head the government for two more months. Today, however, Sanjō’ government is generally regarded as continuation of the Kuroda’s.
^ Temporarily held by the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal.
^ ^a ^b Resigned.
^ ^a ^b Assassinated.
^ ^a ^b ^c Died in office of natural causes.
^ Resigned after the “Grand Coalition of the Three Pro-Constitution Parties” collapsed. Katō was then reinvited by the Prince Regent to form a new government with his own party, Kenseitō. Today, however, his second term is generally regarded as continuation of his first.
^ Incapacitated due to serious wound from assassination plot on 14 November 1930. Foreign Minister Kijūrō Shidehara served as Deputy Prime Minister until Hamaguchi’s return to the office on 10 March 1931.
^ Thought to be killed by renegade soldiers during the February 26 Incident. Interior Minister Fumio Gotō served as Deputy Prime Minister until Okada was found alive on 28 February 1936.
^ Incapacitated due to minor stroke on 31 January 1957. Foreign Minister Nobusuke Kishi served as Deputy Prime Minister until 25 February 1957.
^ Incapacitated due to massive stroke on 3 April 1998. Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki served as Deputy Prime Minister until 5 April 1998.

External links

Official Website of the Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinets

[1] Upon the resignation of the government, the Emperor only accepted Kuroda’s resignation and invited Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Sanetomi Sanjō to head the government for two more months. Today, however, Sanjō’ government is generally regarded as continuation of the Kuroda’s.

[2] Temporarily held by the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal.

[resign-3] Resigned.

[assassination-4] Assassinated.

[death-5] Died in office of natural causes.

[6] Resigned after the “Grand Coalition of the Three Pro-Constitution Parties” collapsed. Katō was then reinvited by the Prince Regent to form a new government with his own party, Kenseitō. Today, however, his second term is generally regarded as continuation of his first.

[7] Incapacitated due to serious wound from assassination plot on 14 November 1930. Foreign Minister Kijūrō Shidehara served as Deputy Prime Minister until Hamaguchi’s return to the office on 10 March 1931.

[8] Thought to be killed by renegade soldiers during the February 26 Incident. Interior Minister Fumio Gotō served as Deputy Prime Minister until Okada was found alive on 28 February 1936.

[9] Incapacitated due to minor stroke on 31 January 1957. Foreign Minister Nobusuke Kishi served as Deputy Prime Minister until 25 February 1957.

[10] Incapacitated due to massive stroke on 3 April 1998. Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki served as Deputy Prime Minister until 5 April 1998.

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