List of prime ministers of Japan by time in office

Last updated December 09, 2024

This is a list of prime ministers of Japan by time in office.

Notable lengths

Japan's three longest-serving prime ministers and three shortest-serving prime ministers, left to right:
Shinzo Abe, 8 years, 267 days; Katsura Tarō, 7 years, 330 days; and Eisaku Satō, 7 years, 242 days.
Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, 54 days; Tsutomu Hata, 64 days; and Tanzan Ishibashi, 65 days.

Of the 64 past prime ministers, six served more than 5 years while twenty served less than a year. Itō Hirobumi became the first Japanese prime minister in 1885 and is the only person to have served on four separate occasions. Shinzo Abe is the longest-serving prime minister with over eight years on two separate occasions, while Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni is the shortest-serving at eight weeks. Katsura Tarō was the longest-serving prime minister in the Imperial period (1885–1947) and the only person to have served on three separate occasions.

List of office holders by tenure

Rank		Party	Start	End	Tenure length (term)	Tenure length (total)	Reason for exit	Ref.
1	Shinzo Abe	Liberal Democratic	26 September 2006	26 September 2007	1 year, 1 day	8 years, 267 days	Resigned due to illness	^[1]
1	Shinzo Abe	Liberal Democratic	26 December 2012	16 September 2020	7 years, 266 days	8 years, 267 days	Resigned due to illness	^[1]
2	Katsura Tarō	Military (Army)	2 June 1901	7 January 1906	4 years, 220 days	7 years, 330 days	Resigned	^[1]
		Military (Army)	14 July 1908	30 August 1911	3 years, 48 days		Resigned
		Independent	21 December 1912	20 February 1913	62 days		Resigned
3	Eisaku Satō	Liberal Democratic	9 November 1964	7 July 1972	7 years, 242 days		Resigned	^[1]
4	Itō Hirobumi	Independent	22 December 1885	30 April 1888	2 years, 131 days	7 years, 164 days	Resigned	^[1]
			8 August 1892	31 August 1896	4 years, 24 days		Resigned
			12 January 1898	30 June 1898	170 days		Resigned
		Rikken Seiyūkai	19 October 1900	10 May 1901	204 days		Resigned
5	Shigeru Yoshida	Liberal	22 May 1946	24 May 1947	1 year, 3 days	7 years, 60 days	Defeated in election	^[1]
		Democratic Liberal	15 October 1948	10 December 1954	6 years, 57 days		Resigned
		Liberal	15 October 1948	10 December 1954	6 years, 57 days		Resigned
6	Junichiro Koizumi	Liberal Democratic	26 April 2001	26 September 2006	5 years, 154 days		Resigned	^[1]
7	Yasuhiro Nakasone	Liberal Democratic	27 November 1982	6 November 1987	4 years, 345 days		Resigned	^[1]
8	Hayato Ikeda	Liberal Democratic	19 July 1960	9 November 1964	4 years, 114 days		Resigned due to illness	^[1]
9	Saionji Kinmochi	Rikken Seiyūkai	7 January 1906	14 July 1908	2 years, 190 days	3 years, 304 days	Resigned	^[1]
9	Saionji Kinmochi	Rikken Seiyūkai	30 August 1911	21 December 1912	1 year, 114 days	3 years, 304 days	Resigned	^[1]
10	Nobusuke Kishi	Liberal Democratic	31 January 1957	19 July 1960	3 years, 171 days		Resigned	^[1]
11	Yamagata Aritomo	Military (Army)	24 December 1889	6 May 1891	1 year, 134 days	3 years, 115 days	Resigned	^[1]
11	Yamagata Aritomo	Military (Army)	8 November 1898	19 October 1900	1 year, 346 days	3 years, 115 days	Resigned	^[1]
12	Hara Takashi	Rikken Seiyūkai	29 September 1918	4 November 1921	3 years, 37 days		Assassinated	^[1]
13	Fumio Kishida	Liberal Democratic	4 October 2021	1 October 2024	2 years, 364 days		Resigned	^[1]^[2]
14	Ōkuma Shigenobu	Kenseitō	30 June 1898	8 November 1898	132 days	2 years, 309 days	Resigned	^[1]
14	Ōkuma Shigenobu	Rikken Dōshikai	16 April 1914	9 October 1916	2 years, 177 days	2 years, 309 days	Resigned	^[1]
15	Fumimaro Konoe	Independent	4 June 1937	5 January 1939	1 year, 216 days	2 years, 305 days	Resigned	^[1]
		Independent	16 July 1940	18 October 1941	1 year, 95 days		Resigned
		Imperial Rule Assistance Association	16 July 1940	18 October 1941	1 year, 95 days		Resigned
16	Hideki Tojo	Imperial Rule Assistance Association	18 October 1941	22 July 1944	2 years, 279 days		Resigned	^[1]
17	Matsukata Masayoshi	Independent	6 May 1891	8 August 1892	1 year, 95 days	2 years, 212 days	Resigned	^[1]
17	Matsukata Masayoshi	Independent	18 September 1896	12 January 1898	1 year, 117 days	2 years, 212 days	Resigned	^[1]
18	Ryutaro Hashimoto	Liberal Democratic	11 January 1996	30 July 1998	2 years, 201 days		Resigned	^[1]
19	Kakuei Tanaka	Liberal Democratic	7 July 1972	9 December 1974	2 years, 156 days		Resigned	^[1]
20	Zenkō Suzuki	Liberal Democratic	17 July 1980	27 November 1982	2 years, 134 days		Resigned	^[1]
21	Toshiki Kaifu	Liberal Democratic	10 August 1989	5 November 1991	2 years, 88 days		Resigned	^[1]
22	Tanaka Giichi	Rikken Seiyūkai	20 April 1927	2 July 1929	2 years, 74 days		Resigned	^[1]
23	Saitō Makoto	Military (Navy)	26 May 1932	8 July 1934	2 years, 44 days		Resigned	^[1]
24	Takeo Miki	Liberal Democratic	9 December 1974	24 December 1976	2 years, 16 days		Lack of majority after election	^[1]
25	Ichirō Hatoyama	Japan Democratic	10 December 1954	23 December 1956	2 years, 14 days		Resigned	^[1]
25	Ichirō Hatoyama	Liberal Democratic	10 December 1954	23 December 1956	2 years, 14 days		Resigned	^[1]
26	Terauchi Masatake	Military (Army)	9 October 1916	29 September 1918	1 year, 356 days		Resigned	^[1]
27	Takeo Fukuda	Liberal Democratic	24 December 1976	7 December 1978	1 year, 349 days		Resigned	^[1]
28	Wakatsuki Reijirō	Kenseikai	30 January 1926	20 April 1927	1 year, 81 days	1 year, 325 days	Resigned	^[1]
28	Wakatsuki Reijirō	Rikken Minseitō	14 April 1931	13 December 1931	244 days	1 year, 325 days	Resigned	^[1]
29	Hamaguchi Osachi	Rikken Minseitō	2 July 1929	14 April 1931	1 year, 287 days		Resigned due to injury	^[1]
30	Kiichi Miyazawa	Liberal Democratic	5 November 1991	9 August 1993	1 year, 278 days		Lack of majority after election	^[1]
31	Keizō Obuchi	Liberal Democratic	30 July 1998	5 April 2000	1 year, 251 days		Resigned due to illness	^[1]
32	Keisuke Okada	Military (Navy)	8 July 1934	9 March 1936	1 year, 246 days		Resigned	^[1]
33	Katō Takaaki	Kenseikai	11 June 1924	28 January 1926	1 year, 232 days		Died	^[1]
34	Noboru Takeshita	Liberal Democratic	6 November 1987	3 June 1989	1 year, 210 days		Resigned	^[1]
35	Tomiichi Murayama	Socialist	30 June 1994	11 January 1996	1 year, 196 days		Resigned	^[1]
36	Masayoshi Ōhira	Liberal Democratic	7 December 1978	12 June 1980	1 year, 189 days		Died	^[1]
37	Yamamoto Gonnohyōe	Military (Navy)	20 February 1913	16 April 1914	1 year, 56 days	1 year, 184 days	Resigned	^[1]
37	Yamamoto Gonnohyōe	Military (Navy)	2 September 1923	7 January 1924	128 days	1 year, 184 days	Resigned	^[1]
38	Kuroda Kiyotaka	Military (Army)	30 April 1888	25 October 1889	1 year, 179 days		Resigned	^[1]
39	Yoshihiko Noda	Democratic	2 September 2011	26 December 2012	1 year, 116 days		Defeated in election	^[1]
40	Naoto Kan	Democratic	8 June 2010	2 September 2011	1 year, 87 days		Resigned	^[1]
41	Katō Tomosaburō	Military (Navy)	12 June 1922	24 August 1923	1 year, 74 days		Died	^[1]
42	Yoshirō Mori	Liberal Democratic	5 April 2000	26 April 2001	1 year, 22 days		Resigned	^[1]
43	Yoshihide Suga	Liberal Democratic	16 September 2020	4 October 2021	1 year, 19 days		Resigned	^[1]
44	Yasuo Fukuda	Liberal Democratic	26 September 2007	24 September 2008	365 days		Resigned	^[1]
45	Tarō Asō	Liberal Democratic	24 September 2008	16 September 2009	358 days		Defeated in election	^[1]
46	Kōki Hirota	Independent	9 March 1936	2 February 1937	331 days		Resigned	^[1]
47	Tetsu Katayama	Socialist	24 May 1947	10 March 1948	292 days		Resigned	^[1]
48	Yukio Hatoyama	Democratic	16 September 2009	8 June 2010	266 days		Resigned	^[1]
49	Morihiro Hosokawa	New	9 August 1993	28 April 1994	263 days		Resigned	^[1]
50	Kuniaki Koiso	Imperial Rule Assistance Association	22 July 1944	7 April 1945	260 days		Resigned	^[1]
51	Hiranuma Kiichirō	Independent	5 January 1939	30 August 1939	238 days		Resigned	^[1]
52	Kijūrō Shidehara	Independent	9 October 1945	22 May 1946	226 days		Defeated in election	^[1]
53	Hitoshi Ashida	Democratic	10 March 1948	15 October 1948	220 days		Resigned	^[1]
54	Takahashi Korekiyo	Rikken Seiyūkai	13 November 1921	12 June 1922	212 days		Resigned	^[1]
55	Mitsumasa Yonai	Military (Navy)	16 January 1940	22 July 1940	189 days		Resigned	^[1]
56	Kiyoura Keigo	Independent	7 January 1924	11 June 1924	157 days		Defeated in election	^[1]
57	Inukai Tsuyoshi	Rikken Seiyūkai	13 December 1931	15 May 1932	155 days		Assassinated	^[1]
58	Nobuyuki Abe	Military (Army)	30 August 1939	16 January 1940	140 days		Resigned	^[1]
59	Kantarō Suzuki	Imperial Rule Assistance Association	7 April 1945	17 August 1945	133 days		Resigned	^[1]
59	Kantarō Suzuki	Independent	7 April 1945	17 August 1945	133 days		Resigned	^[1]
60	Senjūrō Hayashi	Military (Army)	2 February 1937	4 June 1937	123 days		Resigned	^[1]
61	Shigeru Ishiba	Liberal Democratic	1 October 2024	Incumbent	69 days^[a]		Incumbent
62	Sōsuke Uno	Liberal Democratic	3 June 1989	10 August 1989	69 days		Resigned	^[1]
63	Tanzan Ishibashi	Liberal Democratic	23 December 1956	25 February 1957	65 days		Resigned due to illness	^[1]
64	Tsutomu Hata	Renewal	28 April 1994	30 June 1994	64 days		Resigned	^[1]
65	Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni	Imperial Family	17 August 1945	9 October 1945	54 days		Resigned	^[1]

Notes

↑ As of 9 December 2024

Related Research Articles

The politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. A hereditary monarch, currently Emperor Naruhito, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of Japan, currently Shigeru Ishiba since 2024, serves as the elected head of government.

The prime minister of Japan is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces and is a sitting member of either house of the National Diet.

Prince Katsura Tarō was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913. He was a genrō, or senior statesman who helped dictate policy during the Meiji era, and is the second-longest serving Japanese prime minister after Shinzo Abe, serving for a combined total of 7 years and 330 days.

Baron Tanaka Giichi was a Japanese general and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1927 to 1929.

Inukai Tsuyoshi was a Japanese statesman who was prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, after Kantarō Suzuki whose term ended at the age of 77.

Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and restored official relations with the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Representatives (Japan)</span> Lower house of the National Diet of Japan

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by Article 41 and Article 42 of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 176 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation, and 289 are elected from single-member constituencies.

The chief cabinet secretary of Japan is a member of the cabinet and is the leader and chief executive of the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. The chief cabinet secretary coordinates the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch, and also serves as the government's press secretary. The secretary is a statutory member of the National Security Council, and is appointed by the emperor upon the nomination by the prime minister. The chief cabinet secretary is the second in line of succession to the prime minister, and 1st if the office of the deputy prime minister is unoccupied.

The minister for foreign affairs is a member of the cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister is responsible for implementing Japan's foreign policy and is also a statutory member of the National Security Council. The minister is nominated by the prime minister and is appointed by the emperor of Japan.

Political parties appeared in Japan after the Meiji Restoration, and gradually increased in importance after the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution and the creation of the Diet of Japan. During the Taishō period, parliamentary democracy based on party politics temporarily succeeded in Japan, but in the 1930s the political parties were eclipsed by the military, and were dissolved in the 1940s during World War II.

The Government of Meiji Japan was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.

Rikken Minseitō was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the Minseitō.

Takeru Inukai was a Japanese politician and novelist active in Shōwa period Japan. Also known as "Inukai Ken", he was the third son of Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi.

The Minister of Defense, or Bōei-shō (防衛相), is a member of the Japanese cabinet and is the leader of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the executive department of the Japanese Armed Forces. The minister of defense’s position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the Prime Minister of Japan, who is the commander-in-chief.

Bukichi Miki was a Japanese politician. He was a close friend and ally of Ichiro Hatoyama, and was the key figure in carrying out the "conservative merger" that resulted in the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Tatsunosuke Yamazaki was a Japanese was a politician and cabinet minister in the Taishō and early Shōwa periods of the Japan. His brother, Iwao Yamazaki was also a politician and cabinet minister, and his nephew Heihachiro Yamazaki was later a prominent member of the post-war Liberal-Democratic Party.

Conservatism in Japan is the dominant ideology of the country's post-war politics, notably through the establishment of the "1955 System" under the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Since its inception in 1955, the LDP has been a dominant force in Japanese politics, embodying the party's conservative policies and shaping the country's governance for much of the post-war era.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 "List of Successive Prime Ministers | Prime Minister's Office of Japan". japan.kantei.go.jp. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
↑ "The Cabinet". Prime Minister's Office of Japan . Retrieved 8 September 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[3] As of 9 December 2024

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 "List of Successive Prime Ministers | Prime Minister's Office of Japan". japan.kantei.go.jp. Retrieved 8 September 2024.

[2] "The Cabinet". Prime Minister's Office of Japan . Retrieved 8 September 2024.

[1]

[2]

[a]

v t e Lists related to prime ministers of Japan
Premiership	Cabinets Order of service Time in office
Personal life	Lifespan timeline Birth places Education Spouses