| Deputy Prime Minister of Japan | |
|---|---|
| 副総理 | |
 Emblem of the Government of Japan | |
Incumbent Vacant since 4 October 2021 | |
| Style | Mr. Deputy Prime Minister |
| Status | Deputy head of government |
| Member of | Cabinet National Security Council |
| Appointer | The Prime Minister attested to by the Emperor |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Inaugural holder | Kijūrō Shidehara |
| Formation | 3 May 1947 |
| Succession | First |
| Salary | ¥20,916,000 |
The deputy prime Minister of Japan (副総理, Fuku-sōri) is the second highest-ranking officer of the executive branch of the government of Japan after the prime minister of Japan, and ranks first in the line of succession to the prime minister. The office of the deputy prime minister is not a permanent position, and exists only at the discretion of the prime minister.
The deputy prime minister is appointed by the prime minister and must be a member of the cabinet, for instance Taro Aso served as Minister of Finance concurrently. Unlike the vice president of the United States, the deputy prime minister does not automatically become the prime minister, should the latter be incapacitated or resign, but instead exercises the duties of the prime minister until the National Diet elects a successor. However, when Prime Minister Tanzan Ishibashi resigned in 1957, then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi (grandfather of Shinzo Abe and Nobuo Kishi) took the office of acting prime minister, and was officially elected by the National Diet a month later. Tarō Asō was the longest-serving deputy prime minister.
This position is currently vacant since 4 October 2021.
List of deputy prime ministers of Japan
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | Portfolio | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||||||||
| 1 |  |
Kijūrō Shidehara 幣原 喜重郎 Shidehara Kijūrō (1872–1951) |
3 May 1947 |
24 May 1947 |
JPP | Demobilization Board | Yoshida JLP (1946–1947) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 24 May 1947 |
1 June 1947 |
— | Katayama JSP (1947–1948) | ||||
| 2 |  |
Hitoshi Ashida 芦田 均 Ashida Hitoshi (1887–1959) |
1 June 1947 |
10 March 1948 |
DP | Foreign Affairs | |||
| 3 |  |
Suehiro Nishio 西尾 末広 Nishio Suehiro (1891–1981) |
10 March 1948 |
6 July 1948 |
DP | Minister of State | Ashida DP (1948) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 6 July 1948 |
19 October 1948 |
— | |||||
| Yoshida DLP (until 1950) LP (from 1950) (1948–1954) | |||||||||
| 4 |  |
Jōji Hayashi 林 譲治 Hayashi Jōji (1889–1960) |
19 October 1948 |
13 March 1951 |
DLP (until 1950) |
Health (1948–1950) | |||
| LP (from 1950) |
|||||||||
| Minister of State (1950–1951) | |||||||||
| — | Office not in use | 13 March 1951 |
28 November 1952 |
— | |||||
| 5 |  |
Taketora Ogata 緒方 竹虎 Ogata Taketora (1888–1956) |
28 November 1952 |
10 December 1954 |
LP | Chief Cabinet Secretary | |||
| 6 |  |
Mamoru Shigemitsu 重光 葵 Shigemitsu Mamoru (1887–1957) |
10 December 1954 |
23 December 1956 |
JDP (until 1955) |
Foreign Affairs | Hatoyama I. JDP (until 1955) LDP (from 1955) (1954–1956) | ||
| LDP (from 1955) |
|||||||||
| — | Office not in use | 23 December 1956 |
20 May 1957 |
— | Ishibashi LDP (1956–1957) | ||||
| Kishi LDP (1957–1960) | |||||||||
| 7 |  |
Mitsujirō Ishii 石井 光次郎 Ishii Mitsujirō (1889–1981) |
20 May 1957 |
12 June 1958 |
LDP | Minister of State (1957) | |||
| Administrative Management Agency (1957–1958) | |||||||||
| Hokkaido Development Agency (1957–1958) | |||||||||
| — | Office not in use | 12 June 1958 |
18 June 1959 |
— | |||||
| 8 | |
Shūji Masutani 益谷 秀次 Masutani Shūji (1888–1973) |
18 June 1959 |
19 July 1960 |
LDP | Administrative Management Agency | |||
| — | Office not in use | 19 July 1960 |
29 August 1972 |
— | Ikeda LDP (1960–1964) | ||||
| Satō LDP (1964–1972) | |||||||||
| Tanaka LDP (1972–1974) | |||||||||
| 9 |  |
Takeo Miki 三木 武夫 Miki Takeo (1907–1988) |
29 August 1972 |
12 July 1974 |
LDP | Minister of State | |||
| — | Office not in use | 12 July 1974 |
9 December 1974 |
— | |||||
| 10 |  |
Takeo Fukuda 福田 赳夫 Fukuda Takeo (1905–1995) |
9 December 1974 |
6 November 1976 |
LDP | Economic Planning Agency |
Miki LDP (1974–1976) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 6 November 1976 |
11 June 1980 |
— | |||||
| Fukuda T. LDP (1976–1978) | |||||||||
| Ōhira LDP (1978–1980) | |||||||||
| 11 |  |
Masayoshi Ito 伊東 正義 Itō Masayoshi (1913–1994) |
11 June 1980 |
7 July 1980 |
LDP | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Himself as Acting Prime Minister | ||
| — | Office not in use | 7 July 1980 |
22 July 1986 |
— | Suzuki LDP (1980–1982) | ||||
| Nakasone LDP (1982–1987) | |||||||||
| 12 |  |
Shin Kanemaru 金丸 信 Kanemaru Shin (1914–1996) |
22 July 1986 |
6 November 1987 |
LDP | Minister of State | |||
| 13 |  |
Kiichi Miyazawa 宮澤 喜一 Miyazawa Kiichi (1919–2007) |
6 November 1987 |
9 December 1988 |
LDP | Minister of State | Takeshita LDP (1987–1989) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 9 December 1988 |
5 November 1991 |
— | |||||
| Uno LDP (1987–1988) | |||||||||
| Kaifu LDP (1989–1991) | |||||||||
| 14 |  |
Michio Watanabe 渡辺 美智雄 Watanabe Michio (1923–1995) |
5 November 1991 |
7 April 1993 |
LDP | Foreign Affairs | Miyazawa LDP (1991–1993) | ||
| 15 | .png.webp) |
Masaharu Gotōda 後藤田 正晴 Gotōda Masaharu (1914–2005) |
8 April 1993 |
9 August 1993 |
LDP | Justice | |||
| 16 |  |
Tsutomu Hata 羽田 孜 Hata Tsutomu (1935–2017) |
9 August 1993 |
28 April 1994 |
JRP | Foreign Affairs | Hosokawa JNP (1993–1994) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 28 April 1994 |
30 June 1994 |
— | Hata JRP (1994) | ||||
| 17 |  |
Yōhei Kōno 河野 洋平 Kōno Yōhei (born 1937) |
30 June 1994 |
2 October 1995 |
LDP | Foreign Affairs | Murayama JSP (1994–1996) | ||
| 18 |  |
Ryutaro Hashimoto 橋本 龍太郎 Hashimoto Ryūtarō (1937–2006) |
2 October 1995 |
11 January 1996 |
LDP | Trade | |||
| 19 |  |
Wataru Kubo 久保 亘 Kubo Wataru (1929–2003) |
11 January 1996 |
7 November 1996 |
SDP | Finance | Hashimoto LDP (1996–1998) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 7 November 1996 |
16 September 2009 |
— | |||||
| Obuchi LDP (1998–2000) | |||||||||
| Mori LDP (2000–2001) | |||||||||
| Koizumi LDP (2001–2006) | |||||||||
| Abe LDP (2006–2007) | |||||||||
| Fukuda Y. LDP (2007–2008) | |||||||||
| Asō LDP (2008–2009) | |||||||||
| 20 |  |
Naoto Kan 菅 直人 Kan Naoto (born 1946) |
16 September 2009 |
8 June 2010 |
DPJ | Minister of State | Hatoyama Y. DPJ (2009–2010) | ||
| — | Office not in use | 8 June 2010 |
13 January 2012 |
— | Kan DPJ (2010–2011) | ||||
| Noda DPJ (2011–2012) | |||||||||
| 21 |  |
Katsuya Okada 岡田 克也 Okada Katsuya (born 1953) |
13 January 2012 |
26 December 2012 |
DPJ | Minister of State | |||
| 22 |  |
Tarō Asō 麻生 太郎 Asō Tarō (born 1940) |
26 December 2012 |
4 October 2021 |
LDP | Finance | Abe LDP (2012–2020) | ||
| Suga LDP (2020–2021) | |||||||||
| — | Office not in use | 4 October 2021 |
Present | — | Kishida LDP (since 2021) | ||||
References
- Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991, ISBN 4-7674-2015-6