Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography/japan

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Minister of Justice (Japan)

Japanese cabinet role

Summary

Japanese cabinet role

FieldValue
postMinister of Justice
native_name法務大臣
insigniaGoshichi no kiri.svg
insigniasize80px
insigniacaptionEmblem of the Government of Japan
imageHiroshi Hiraguchi (cropped).jpg
incumbentHiroshi Hiraguchi
incumbentsince21 October 2025
departmentMinistry of Justice
styleHis Excellency
member_ofCabinet of Japan
reports_toPrime Minister of Japan
appointerPrime Minister of Japan
appointer_qualifiedattested to by the Emperor
formation
deputyState Minister of Justice
salary¥20,916,000

The Minister of Justice is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Justice. The minister is nominated by the Prime Minister of Japan and is appointed by the Emperor of Japan.

The current minister is Hiroshi Hiraguchi, who took office on 21 October 2025.

Organization and authority

On 1 August 1952, the Attorney General's Office became the Ministry of Justice, headed by a Minister of Justice rather than an attorney general.

By law, the Minister of Justice is authorized to order executions of any inmate on death row at anytime, making the position highly influential. The Minister is also authorized to deport or grant any foreigner residential or permanent visas.

List of ministers of justice

Justice ministerTerm of officePrime minister#PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeDaysIndependent politician}}"Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)}}" rowspan="4"Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)}}"Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)}}"Liberal Party (Japan, 1950)}}"Democratic Party (Japan, 1954)}}"Democratic Party (Japan, 1954)}}" rowspan="2"Democratic Party (Japan, 1954)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="4"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="4"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="8"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="5"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="3"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Independent politician}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Independent politician}}"Japan New Party}}"Japan Renewal Party}}"Japan Renewal Party}}" rowspan="2"Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Japan Socialist Party}}" rowspan="3"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Independent politician}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="3"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="3"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan=4Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan=2Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan=2Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan=2Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}" rowspan=2Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}" rowspan=4Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}" rowspan=5Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}"Democratic Party of Japan}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan=9Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"rowspan=4Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="2"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}"
1[[File:Tokutarō Kimura 02 cropped to 3x4.jpgframeless133x133px]]Tokutaro KimuraAugust 1, 1952October 30, 1952Shigeru Yoshida
2[[File:Takeru inukai.jpgframeless140x140px]]Takeru InukaiOctober 30, 1952April 22, 1954
3[[File:Ryogoro kato.jpgframeless142x142px]]Ryogo KatoApril 22, 1954June 19, 1954
4[[File:Naoshi Ohara 3.jpgframeless133x133px]]Naoshi OharaJune 19, 1954December 10, 1954
5[[File:Hanamura Shiro.jpgframeless143x143px]]Shiro HamamuraDecember 10, 1954November 22, 1955Ichirō Hatoyama
6[[File:Ryozo makino.jpgframeless141x141px]]Ryozo MakinoNovember 22, 1955December 23, 1956
7[[File:Umekichi Nakamura 1965.jpgframeless135x135px]]Umekichi NakamuraDecember 23, 1956July 10, 1957Tanzan Ishibashi
Nobusuke Kishi
8Toshiki KarasaJuly 10, 1957June 12, 1958
9Kiichi AichiJune 12, 1958June 18, 1959
10[[File:Hiroya Ino.jpgframeless116x116px]]Hiroya InoJune 18, 1959July 19, 1960
11[[File:Tetsuzo Kojima.jpgframeless119x119px]]Tetsuzo KojimaJuly 19, 1960December 8, 1960Hayato Ikeda
12Koshiro UekiDecember 8, 1960July 18, 1962
13[[File:Nakagaki Kunio.JPGframeless124x124px]]Kunio NakagakiJuly 18, 1962July 18, 1963
14[[File:KayaOkinori.jpgframeless124x124px]]Okinori KayaJuly 18, 1963July 18, 1964
15Hitoshi TakahashiJuly 18, 1964June 3, 1965
Eisaku Satō
16[[File:Mitsujiro Ishii.jpgframeless119x119px]]Mitsujirō IshiiJune 3, 1965December 3, 1966
17Isaji TanakaDecember 3, 1966November 25, 1967
18[[File:Bunzo Akama.jpgframeless121x121px]]Bunzo AkamaNovember 25, 1967November 30, 1968
19[[File:Saigo Kichinosuke.JPGframeless166x166px]]Kichinosuke SaigoNovember 30, 1968January 14, 1970
20Takeji KobayashiJanuary 14, 1970February 9, 1971
21Daisuke AkitaFebruary 9, 1971February 17, 1971
22Koshiro UekiFebruary 17, 1971July 5, 1971
23[[File:Shigesaburo Maeo.jpgframeless169x169px]]Shigesaburō MaeoJuly 5, 1971July 7, 1972
24Yūichi KōriJuly 7, 1972December 22, 1972Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="4"Kakuei Tanaka
25Isaji TanakaDecember 22, 1972November 25, 1973
26Umekichi NakamuraNovember 25, 1973November 11, 1974
27Seigo HamanoNovember 11, 1974December 9, 1974
28[[File:Osamu Inaba 1972.jpgframeless144x144px]]Osamu InabaDecember 9, 1974December 24, 1976Takeo Miki
29Hajime FukudaDecember 24, 1976October 5, 1977Takeo Fukuda
30[[File:Mitsuo Setoyama 1982.jpgframeless145x145px]]Mitsuo SetayamaOctober 5, 1977December 7, 1978
31Yoshimi FuruiDecember 7, 1978November 9, 1979Masayoshi Ōhira
32Tadao KuraishiNovember 9, 1979July 17, 1980
33[[File:Seisuke Okuno 1972.jpgframeless145x145px]]Seisuke OkunoJuly 17, 1980November 30, 1980Zenkō Suzuki
34[[File:Michita Sakata 1968.jpgframeless145x145px]]Michita SakataNovember 30, 1980November 27, 1982
35Hatano AkiraNovember 27, 1982December 27, 1983Yasuhiro Nakasone
36Eisaku SumiDecember 27, 1983November 1, 1984
37Hitoshi ShimazakiNovember 1, 1984December 28, 1985
38Seigo SuzukiDecember 28, 1985July 22, 1986
39Kaname EndoJuly 22, 1986November 6, 1987
40Yukio HasegawaNovember 6, 1987December 27, 1988Noboru Takeshita
41Takashi HasegawaDecember 27, 1998December 30, 1998
42Masami TakatsujiDecember 30, 1998June 3 1989
43[[File:Kazuo Tanikawa.19830822 (cropped).jpgframeless133x133px]]Kazuo TanikawaJune 3 1989August 10, 1989Sōsuke Uno
44Masao GotoAugust 10, 1989February 28, 1990Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="4"Toshiki Kaifu
45Shin HasegawaFebruary 28, 1990September 13, 1990
46[[File:Seiroku Kajiyama.jpgframeless145x145px]]Seiroku KajiyamaSeptember 13, 1990December 29, 1990
47Megumi SatoDecember 29, 1990November 5, 1991
48Takashi TawaraNovember 5, 1991December 12, 1992Kiichi Miyazawa
49[[File:Minister of Jastice, Masaharu Gotōda.pngframeless100x100px]]Masaharu GotōdaDecember 12, 1992August 9, 1993
50[[File:Mikazuki Akira.jpgframeless133x133px]]Akira MikazukiAugust 9, 1993April 28, 1994Morihiro Hosokawa
51Shigeto NaganoApril 28, 1994May 8, 1994Tsutomu Hata
52[[File:Hiroshi Nakai.jpgframeless141x141px]]Hiroshi NakaiMay 8, 1994June 30, 1994
53Isao MaedaJune 30, 1994August 8, 1995Tomiichi Murayama
54Tomoharu TazawaAugust 8, 1995October 8, 1995
55Hiroshi MiyazawaOctober 8, 1995January 11, 1996
56Ritsuko NagaoJanuary 11, 1996November 7, 1996Ryutaro Hashimoto
57[[File:Isao Matsuura.jpgframeless129x129px]]Isao MatsuuraNovember 7, 1996September 11, 1997
58[[File:Kōkichi Shimoinaba.jpgframeless138x138px]]Kokichi ShimoinabaSeptember 11, 1997July 30, 1998
59[[File:Shōzaburō Nakamura.jpgframeless129x129px]]Shozaburo NakamuraJuly 30, 1998March 8, 1999Keizō Obuchi
60[[File:Takao Jinnouchi.jpgframeless130x130px]]Takao JinnouchiMarch 8, 1999October 5, 1999
61[[File:Hideo Usui.jpgframeless127x127px]]Hideo UsuiOctober 5, 1999July 4, 2000
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)}}" rowspan="3"Yoshirō Mori
62[[File:Okiharu Yasuoka 2000704.jpgframeless124x124px]]Okiharu YasuokaJuly 4, 2000December 5, 2000
63[[File:Masahiko Komura 1996.jpg100px]]Masahiko KōmuraDecember 5, 2000April 26, 2001
64[[File:Mayumi Moriyama.jpg100px]]Mayumi MoriyamaApril 26, 2001September 22, 2003Junichiro Koizumi
65[[File:Daizō Nozawa.jpg100px]]Daizō NozawaSeptember 22, 2003September 27, 2004
66[[File:Chieko Nōno.jpg100px]]Chieko NōnoSeptember 27, 2004October 31, 2005
67[[File:Seiken Sugiura, Minister of Justice.jpg100px]]Seiken SugiuraOctober 31, 2005September 26, 2006
68[[File:Jinen Nagase 200609.jpg100px]]Jinen NagaseSeptember 26, 2006August 27, 2007Shinzo Abe
69[[File:Official portrait of Kunio Hatoyama 2008.jpg100px]]Kunio HatoyamaAugust 27, 2007August 2, 2008
Yasuo Fukuda
70[[File:Okiharu Yasuoka 2000704.jpg100px]]Okiharu YasuokaAugust 2, 2008September 24, 2008
71[[File:Eisuke Mori.jpg100px]]Eisuke MoriSeptember 24, 2008September 16, 2009Taro Aso
72[[File:Chiba Keiko.jpg100px]]Keiko ChibaSeptember 16, 2009September 7, 2010Yukio Hatoyama
Naoto Kan
73[[File:Minoru Yanagida.jpg100px]]Minoru YanagidaSeptember 7, 2010November 22, 2010
74[[File:Yoshito Sengoku 20100917.jpg100px]]Yoshito SengokuNovember 22, 2010January 14, 2011
75[[File:Satsuki Eda MOJ (cropped).jpg100px]]Satsuki EdaJanuary 14, 2011September 2, 2011
76[[File:Hideo Hiraoka.jpg100px]]Hideo HiraokaSeptember 2, 2011January 13, 2012Yoshihiko Noda
77[[File:Toshio Ogawa 201101.jpg100px]]Toshio OgawaJanuary 13, 2012June 4, 2012
78[[File:Makoto Taki 2004.jpg100px]]Makoto TakiJune 4, 2012October 1, 2012
79[[File:Tanaka Keishuu 201210.jpg100px]]Keishu TanakaOctober 1, 2012October 23, 2012
80
(78)[[File:Makoto Taki 2004.jpg100px]]Makoto TakiOctober 23, 2012December 26, 2012
81[[File:Tanigaki Sadakazu 1-2.jpg100px]]Sadakazu TanigakiDecember 26, 2012September 3, 2014Shinzo Abe
82[[File:Midori Matsushima 20140903.jpg100px]]Midori MatsushimaSeptember 3, 2014October 20, 2014
83[[File:Yōko Kamikawa 20141021.jpg100px]]Yōko KamikawaOctober 20, 2014October 7, 2015
84[[File:Mitsuhide Iwaki 20151007.jpg100px]]Mitsuhide IwakiOctober 7, 2015August 3, 2016
85[[File:Katsutoshi Kaneda.jpg100px]]Katsutoshi KanedaAugust 3, 2016August 3, 2017
86
(83)[[File:Yōko Kamikawa 20141021.jpg100px]]Yōko KamikawaAugust 3, 2017October 2, 2018
87[[File:Takashi Yamashita (cropped).jpg100px]]Takashi YamashitaOctober 2, 2018September 11, 2019
88[[File:Kawaikatsuyuki.jpg100px]]Katsuyuki KawaiSeptember 11, 2019October 31, 2019
89[[File:Masako Mori 20170510.jpg100px]]Masako MoriOctober 31, 2019September 16, 2020
90
(83)[[File:Yōko Kamikawa 20141021.jpg100px]]Yōko KamikawaSeptember 16, 2020October 4, 2021Yoshihide Suga
91[[File:Yoshihisa Furukawa 20211004 (cropped).jpg100px]]Yoshihisa FurukawaOctober 4, 202110 August 2022Fumio Kishida
92[[File:Yasuhiro Hanashi 20160212.jpg100px]]Yasuhiro Hanashi10 August 202211 November 2022
93[[File:Ken Saitō 20221111 (cropped).png100px]]Ken SaitōNovember 11, 2022September 13, 2023
94[[File:Ryūji Koizumi 20111227.jpg100px]]Ryuji KoizumiSeptember 13, 2023October 1, 2024
95[[File:Hideki Makihara 20241001 (cropped 2).jpg100px]]Hideki MakiharaOctober 1, 2024November 11, 2024Shigeru Ishiba
96[[File:Keisuke Suzuki, Minister of Justice (cropped).jpg100px]]Keisuke SuzukiNovember 11, 2024October 21, 2025
97[[File:Hiroshi Hiraguchi (cropped).jpg100px]]Hiroshi HiraguchiOctober 21, 2025IncumbentSanae Takaichi

References

References

  1. "History of the Ministry of Justice".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

ministers-of-justice-of-japan
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Minister of Justice (Japan) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report