Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (外務大臣, Gaimu Daijin^?) of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on external relations. The recent efforts of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to establish a more interventionist foreign policy have also heightened the importance of the position.

The position is currently held by Fumio Kishida.

List of ministers[edit]

#	Image	Name	Took office	Left office
19th century
1		Inoue Kaoru	1885	1887
2		Itō Hirobumi	1887	1888
3		Ōkuma Shigenobu (1st)	1888	1889
4		Aoki Shūzō (1st)	1889	1891
5		Enomoto Takeaki	1891	1892
6		Mutsu Munemitsu	1892	1896
7		Saionji Kinmochi (1st)	1896	1896
3		Ōkuma Shigenobu (2nd)	1896	1897
8		Nishi Tokujirō	1897	1898
3		Ōkuma Shigenobu (3rd)	1898	1898
4		Aoki Shūzō (2nd)	1898	1900
20th century
9	Katō Takaaki (1st)	1900	1901
10	Sone Arasuke	1901	1901
11	Komura Jutarō (1st)	1901	1906
9	Katō Takaaki (2nd)	1906	1906
7	Saionji Kinmochi (2nd)	1906	1906
12	Hayashi Tadasu	1906	1908
13	Terauchi Masatake (1st)	1908	1908
11	Komura Jutarō (2nd)	1908	1911
14	Uchida Kosai (1st)	1911	1912
15	Katsura Tarō	1912	1913
9	Katō Takaaki (2nd)	1913	1913
16	Makino Nobuaki	1913	1914
9	Katō Takaaki (3rd)	1914	1915
3	Ōkuma Shigenobu (4th)	1915	1915
17	Ishii Kikujirō	1915	1916
13	Terauchi Masatake (2nd)	1916	1916
18	Motono Ichirō	1916	1918
19	Gotō Shinpei	1918	1918
14	Uchida Kosai (2nd)	1918	1923
20	Yamamoto Gonnohyōe	1923	1923
21	Hikokichi Ijuin	1923	1924
22	Matsui Keishirō	1924	1924
23	Kijūrō Shidehara (1st)	1924	1927
24	Tanaka Giichi	1927	1929
23	Kijūrō Shidehara (2nd)	1929	1931
25	Inukai Tsuyoshi	1931	1932
26	Kenkichi Yoshizawa	1932	1932
27	Saitō Makoto	1932	1932
14	Uchida Kosai (3rd)	1932	1933
28	Kōki Hirota (1st)	1933	1936
29	Hachirō Arita (1st)	1936	1937
30	Senjuro Hayashi	1937	1937
31	Naotake Satō	1937	1937
28	Kōki Hirota (2nd)	1937	1938
32	Kazushige Ugaki	1938	1938
33	Fumimaro Konoe	1938	1938
29	Hachirō Arita (2nd)	1938	1939
34	Nobuyuki Abe	1939	1939
35	Kichisaburō Nomura	1939	1940
29	Hachirō Arita (3rd)	1940	1940
36	Yōsuke Matsuoka	1940	1941
37	Teijirō Toyoda	1941	1941
38	Shigenori Tōgō (1st)	1941	1942
39	Hideki Tōjō	1942	1942
40	Masayuki Tani	1942	1943
41	Mamoru Shigemitsu (1st)	1943	1945
42	Kantarō Suzuki	1945	1945
37	Shigenori Tōgō (2nd)	1945	1945
41	Mamoru Shigemitsu (2nd)	1945	1945
43	Shigeru Yoshida (1st)	1945	1947
44	Hitoshi Ashida	1947	1948
43	Shigeru Yoshida (2nd)	1948	1952
45	Katsuo Okazaki	1952	1954
40	Mamoru Shigemitsu (3rd)	1954	1956
46	Nobusuke Kishi	1956	1957
47	Aiichiro Fujiyama	1957	1960
48	Zentaro Kosaka (1st)	1960	1962
49	Masayoshi Ōhira (1st)	1962	1964
50	Shiina Etsusaburo	1964	1966
51	Takeo Miki	1966	1968
52	Kiichi Aichi	1968	1971
53	Takeo Fukuda	1971	1972
49	Masayoshi Ōhira (2nd)	1972	1974
54	Toshio Kimura	1974	1974
55	Kiichi Miyazawa	1974	1976
48	Zentaro Kosaka (2nd)	1976	1976
56	Iichirō Hatoyama	1976	1977
57	Sunao Sonoda (1st)	1977	1979
58	Saburo Okita	1979	1980
59	Masayoshi Ito	1980	1981
57	Sunao Sonoda (2nd)	1981	1981
60	Yoshio Sakurauchi	1981	1982
61	Shintaro Abe	1982	1986
62	Tadashi Kuranari	1986	1987
63	Sōsuke Uno	1987	1989
64	Hiroshi Mitsuzuka	1989	1989
65	Taro Nakayama	1989	1991
66	Michio Watanabe	1991	1993
67	Kabun Muto	1993	1993
68	Tsutomu Hata	1993	1994
69	Koji Kakizawa	1994	1994
70	Yohei Kono (1st)	1994	1996
71	Yukihiko Ikeda	1996	1997
72	Keizō Obuchi	1997	1998
73	Masahiko Kōmura (1st)	1998	1999
70	Yohei Kono (2nd)	1999	2001
21st century
71	Makiko Tanaka	2001	2002
72	Junichiro Koizumi	2002	2002
73	Yoriko Kawaguchi	2002	2004
74	Nobutaka Machimura (1st)	2004	2005
75	Tarō Asō	2005	2007
74	Nobutaka Machimura (2nd)	2007	2007
73	Masahiko Kōmura (2nd)	2007	2008
76	Hirofumi Nakasone	2008	2009
77	Katsuya Okada	2009	2010
78	Seiji Maehara	2010	2011
	Yukio Edano (acting)	2011	2011
79	Takeaki Matsumoto	2011	2011
80	Kōichirō Genba	2011	2012
81	Fumio Kishida	2012	Present