Chief Cabinet Secretary

Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan
内閣官房長官
*Naikaku-kanbō-chōkan*
Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan; 内閣官房長官; Naikaku-kanbō-chōkan
	Emblem of the Government of Japan
	Incumbent; Yoshihide Suga; since 26 December 2012
Appointer	The Prime Minister
Formation	3 May 1947

The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan (内閣官房長官, Naikaku-kanbō-chōkan) is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan.^[1] The main function of the Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch.^[2] The Chief Cabinet Secretary serves as the government's press secretary,^[3] conducts policy research,^[4] prepares materials to be discussed at cabinet meetings,^[5] and, in time of national crisis, coordinates ministries and agencies of the executive branch.^[6] The Chief Cabinet Secretary is customarily nominated as the first in line to serve as temporary Acting Prime Minister in case the Prime Minister is unable to serve due to death or other grave reasons until a new Prime Minister is appointed.^[7] The Chief Cabinet Secretary's office is located on the fifth floor of the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo.

Before and during World War II, the position was known in Japanese as 内閣書記官長 (naikaku-shokikan-chō). The modern position was created on May 3, 1947, shortly after the passage of the Constitution of Japan, and elevated to ministerial status in 1966.

The present incumbent, Yoshihide Suga, is the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in history, having overtaken the previous record of 1,289 days in office set by Yasuo Fukuda on July 7, 2016.^[8]

Since 1947, the office of Chief Cabinet Secretary has been regarded as a stepping stone to the post of Prime Minister. The first Chief Cabinet Secretary to become Prime Minister was Ichirō Hatoyama, formerly Chief Cabinet Secretary to Tanaka Giichi. Since then, eight other former Chief Cabinet Secretaries have become Prime Ministers, most recently Shinzō Abe and Yasuo Fukuda.

List of Chief Cabinet Secretaries

Ichirō Hatoyama (1927–1929; later prime minister, 1954–1956)
Shigeru Yoshida (1936; An official of Ministry of Interior, not to be confused with another Shigeru Yoshida, who was a prime minister and diplomat.)
Hisatsune Sakomizu (7 April 1945 - 15 August 1945)
Daizaburō Tsugita (1945-1946)
Wataru Narahashi (1946)

Postwar Shōwa Era

  Liberal (1945)
  Socialist
  Democratic (1947)
  Democratic Liberal
  Liberal (1950)
  Democratic (1954)
  Liberal Democratic

Chief Cabinet Secretary		Term of office			Prime Minister
Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1945)/meta/color" \|	Jyōji Hayashi	May 29, 1946	May 24, 1947	360	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1945)/meta/color" \|	Shigeru Yoshida
style="background-color: Template:Japan Socialist Party/meta/color" \|	Suehiro Nishio	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948	283	style="background-color: Template:Japan Socialist Party/meta/color" \|	Tetsu Katayama
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party (Japan, 1947)/meta/color" \|	Gizō Tomabechi	March 10, 1948	October 15, 1948	219	style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party (Japan, 1947)/meta/color" \|	Hitoshi Ashida
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Liberal Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Eisaku Satō^{[n 1]}	October 17, 1948	February 16, 1949	122	style="background-color: Template:Democratic Liberal Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Shigeru Yoshida
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Liberal Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kaneshichi Masuda	February 16, 1949	May 6, 1950	444
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)/meta/color" \|	Katsuo Okazaki	May 6, 1950	December 26, 1951	599	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)/meta/color" rowspan=4\|
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)/meta/color" \|	Shigeru Hori	December 26, 1951	October 30, 1952	309
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)/meta/color" \|	Taketora Ogata	October 30, 1952	May 21, 1953	203
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)/meta/color" \|	Kenji Fukunaga	May 21, 1953	December 10, 1954	568
style="background-color: Template:Japan Democratic Party (1954)/meta/color" \|	Ryutarō Nemoto	December 10, 1954	November 22, 1955	744	style="background-color: Template:Japan Democratic Party (1954)/meta/color" \|	Ichirō Hatoyama
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Ryutarō Nemoto	November 22, 1955	December 23, 1956	744	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Ichirō Hatoyama
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Hirohide Ishida	December 12, 1956	July 10, 1957	210	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color"\|	Tanzan Ishibashi
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=4\|	Hirohide Ishida	December 12, 1956	July 10, 1957	210	Nobusuke Kishi
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kiichi Aichi	July 10, 1957	June 12, 1958	337
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Munenori Akagi	June 12, 1958	June 18, 1959	371
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Etsusaburō Shiina	June 18, 1959	July 19, 1960	397
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Masayoshi Ōhira^{[n 2]}	July 19, 1960	July 18, 1962	729	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=3\|	Hayato Ikeda
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Yasumi Kurogane	July 18, 1962	July 18, 1964	731
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Zenkō Suzuki^{[n 3]}	July 18, 1964	November 9, 1964	114
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Tomisaburō Hashimoto	November 9, 1964	August 1, 1966	630	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=6\|	Eisaku Satō
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kiichi Aichi	August 1, 1966	December 3, 1966	124
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kenji Fukunaga	December 3, 1966	June 22, 1967	201
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Toshio Kimura	June 22, 1967	November 30, 1968	527
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Shigeru Hori	November 30, 1968	July 5, 1971	947
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Noboru Takeshita^{[n 4]}	July 5, 1971	July 7, 1972	368
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Susumu Nikaidō	July 7, 1972	November 11, 1974	857	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Kakuei Tanaka
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Noboru Takeshita^{[n 4]}	November 11, 1974	December 9, 1974	28		Kakuei Tanaka
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Ichitarō Ide	December 9, 1974	December 24, 1976	746	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Takeo Miki
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Sunao Sonoda	December 24, 1976	November 28, 1977	339	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Takeo Fukuda
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Shintaro Abe	November 28, 1977	December 7, 1978	374		Takeo Fukuda
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Rokusuke Tanaka	December 7, 1978	November 9, 1979	337	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Masayoshi Ōhira
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Masayoshi Ito^{[n 5]}	November 9, 1979	July 17, 1980	251		Masayoshi Ōhira
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Masayoshi Ito^{[n 5]}	November 9, 1979	July 17, 1980	251	Himself (Acting)
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kiichi Miyazawa^{[n 6]}	July 17, 1980	November 27, 1982	863	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Zenkō Suzuki
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Masaharu Gotōda	November 27, 1982	December 27, 1983	395	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=3\|	Yasuhiro Nakasone
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Takao Fujinami	December 27, 1983	December 28, 1985	732
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Masaharu Gotōda	December 28, 1985	November 6, 1987	678

Heisei Era

  Liberal Democratic
  Japan New Party
  New Party Sakigake
  Japan Renewal Party
  Socialist
  Democratic

Chief Cabinet Secretary		Term of office			Prime Minister
Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Keizō Obuchi^{[n 7]}	November 6, 1987	June 3, 1989	575	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Noboru Takeshita
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Masajuro Shiokawa	June 3, 1989	August 10, 1989	68	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Sōsuke Uno
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Tokuo Yamashita	August 10, 1989	August 26, 1989	16	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=3\|	Toshiki Kaifu
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Mayumi Moriyama	August 26, 1989	February 28, 1990	186
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Misoji Sakamoto	February 28, 1990	November 5, 1991	615
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Koichi Kato	November 5, 1991	December 12, 1992	403	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Kiichi Miyazawa
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Yōhei Kōno	December 12, 1992	August 9, 1993	240		Kiichi Miyazawa
style="background-color: Template:New Party Sakigake/meta/color" \|	Masayoshi Takemura	August 9, 1993	April 28, 1994	262	style="background-color: Template:Japan New Party/meta/color" \|	Morihiro Hosokawa
style="background-color: Template:Japan Renewal Party/meta/color" \|	Hiroshi Kumagai	April 28, 1994	June 30, 1994	63	style="background-color: Template:Japan Renewal Party/meta/color" \|	Tsutomu Hata
style="background-color: Template:Japan Socialist Party/meta/color" \|	Kozo Igarashi	June 30, 1994	August 8, 1995	404	style="background-color: Template:Japan Socialist Party/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Tomiichi Murayama
style="background-color: Template:Japan Socialist Party/meta/color" \|	Koken Nosaka	August 8, 1995	January 11, 1996	156		Tomiichi Murayama
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Seiroku Kajiyama	January 11, 1996	September 11, 1997	609	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Ryutaro Hashimoto
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kanezo Muraoka	September 11, 1997	July 30, 1998	322		Ryutaro Hashimoto
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Hiromu Nonaka	July 30, 1998	October 10, 1999	432	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Keizo Obuchi
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Mikio Aoki	October 10, 1999	July 4, 2000	273		Keizo Obuchi
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=3\|	Mikio Aoki	October 10, 1999	July 4, 2000	273	Yoshiro Mori
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Hidenao Nakagawa	July 4, 2000	October 27, 2000	115
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Yasuo Fukuda^{[n 8]}	October 27, 2000	May 7, 2004	1380
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=3\|	Yasuo Fukuda^{[n 8]}	October 27, 2000	May 7, 2004	1380	Junichiro Koizumi
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Hiroyuki Hosoda	May 7, 2004	October 31, 2005	450
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Shinzō Abe^{[n 9]}	October 31, 2005	September 26, 2006	330
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Yasuhisa Shiozaki	September 26, 2006	August 27, 2007	335	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Shinzō Abe
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Kaoru Yosano	August 27, 2007	September 26, 2007	30		Shinzō Abe
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Nobutaka Machimura	September 26, 2007	September 24, 2008	364	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Yasuo Fukuda
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Takeo Kawamura	September 24, 2008	September 16, 2009	357	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Taro Aso
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" \|	Hirofumi Hirano	September 16, 2009	June 8, 2010	265	style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" \|	Yukio Hatoyama
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" \|	Yoshito Sengoku	June 8, 2010	January 4, 2011	210	style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" rowspan=2\|	Naoto Kan
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" \|	Yukio Edano	January 4, 2011	September 2, 2011	241		Naoto Kan
style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" \|	Osamu Fujimura	September 2, 2011	December 26, 2012	481	style="background-color: Template:Democratic Party of Japan/meta/color" \|	Yoshihiko Noda

Reiwa Era

Liberal Democratic

Chief Cabinet Secretary			Term of office			Prime Minister
Portrait		Name	Took Office	Left Office	Days	Prime Minister
style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|		Yoshihide Suga	December 26, 2012	Incumbent	4168	style="background-color: Template:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)/meta/color" \|	Shinzō Abe

References

Footnotes

^ Later served as Prime Minister 1964-72
^ Later served as Prime Minister 1978-80
^ Later served as Prime Minister 1980-82
^ ^a ^b Later served as Prime Minister 1987-89
^ Served as Acting Prime Minister on the death of Ōhira, 12 June - 17 July 1980
^ Later served as Prime Minister 1991-93
^ Later served as Prime Minister 1998-2000
^ Later served as Prime Minister 2007-08.
^ Later served as Prime Minister 2006-07, 2012-present.

Notes

^ Cabinet Act, Article 13.
^ Cabinet Act, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 4 and 5
^ Cabinet Act, Article 17
^ Cabinet Act, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 6
^ Cabinet Act, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 1
^ Cabinet Act, Article 15
^ Cabinet Act, Article 9
^ "Government strongman Suga set to become Japan's longest-serving chief Cabinet secretary". Japan Times. Jiji Press. Retrieved 3 December 2016.

[Sato-9] Later served as Prime Minister 1964-72

[Ohira-10] Later served as Prime Minister 1978-80

[Suzuki-11] Later served as Prime Minister 1980-82

[Takeshita-12] Later served as Prime Minister 1987-89

[Ito-13] Served as Acting Prime Minister on the death of Ōhira, 12 June - 17 July 1980

[Miyazawa-14] Later served as Prime Minister 1991-93

[Obuchi-15] Later served as Prime Minister 1998-2000

[Fukuda-16] Later served as Prime Minister 2007-08.

[PM-17] Later served as Prime Minister 2006-07, 2012-present.

[1] Cabinet Act, Article 13.

[2] Cabinet Act, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 4 and 5

[3] Cabinet Act, Article 17

[4] Cabinet Act, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 6

[5] Cabinet Act, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 1

[6] Cabinet Act, Article 15

[7] Cabinet Act, Article 9

[8] "Government strongman Suga set to become Japan's longest-serving chief Cabinet secretary". Japan Times. Jiji Press. Retrieved 3 December 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[n 1]

[n 2]

[n 3]

[n 4]

[n 5]

[n 6]

[n 7]

[n 8]

[n 9]

v t e Japanese government ministries and agencies
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Board of Audit (constitutionally independent)

List of Chief Cabinet Secretaries

Postwar Shōwa Era

Heisei Era

Reiwa Era

See also

References