Minister of Justice (Japan)

The 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

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="4" |Justice minister

! colspan="3" |Term of office

! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Prime minister

! colspan="2" |Portrait

!Name

!Took office

!Left office

!Days

!style="background-color: "|

|frameless|133x133px

|Tokutaro Kimura

|August 1, 1952

|October 30, 1952

! style="background-color: " rowspan="4" |

| rowspan="4" |Shigeru Yoshida

! style="background-color: "|

|frameless|140x140px

|Takeru Inukai

|October 30, 1952

|April 22, 1954

! style="background-color: "|

|frameless|142x142px

|Ryogo Kato

|April 22, 1954

|June 19, 1954

! style="background-color: "|

|frameless|133x133px

|Naoshi Ohara

|June 19, 1954

|December 10, 1954

!style="background-color: "|

|frameless|143x143px

|Shiro Hamamura

|December 10, 1954

|November 22, 1955

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |Ichirō Hatoyama

!style="background-color: "|

|frameless|141x141px

|Ryozo Makino

|November 22, 1955

|December 23, 1956

| rowspan="2" |7

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |frameless|135x135px

| rowspan="2" |Umekichi Nakamura

| rowspan="2" |December 23, 1956

| rowspan="2" |July 10, 1957

| rowspan="2" |

!style="background-color: " |

|Tanzan Ishibashi

!style="background-color: " rowspan="4" |

| rowspan="4" |Nobusuke Kishi

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Toshiki Karasa

|July 10, 1957

|June 12, 1958

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Kiichi Aichi

|June 12, 1958

|June 18, 1959

|10

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|116x116px

|Hiroya Ino

|June 18, 1959

|July 19, 1960

|11

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|119x119px

|Tetsuzo Kojima

|July 19, 1960

|December 8, 1960

!style="background-color: " rowspan="4" |

| rowspan="5" |Hayato Ikeda

|12

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Koshiro Ueki

|December 8, 1960

|July 18, 1962

|13

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|124x124px

|Kunio Nakagaki

|July 18, 1962

|July 18, 1963

|14

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|124x124px

|Okinori Kaya

|July 18, 1963

|July 18, 1964

| rowspan="2" |15

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |Hitoshi Takahashi

| rowspan="2" |July 18, 1964

| rowspan="2" |June 3, 1965

| rowspan="2" |

!style="background-color: "|

!style="background-color: " |

| rowspan="9" |Eisaku Satō

|16

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|119x119px

|Mitsujirō Ishii

|June 3, 1965

|December 3, 1966

!style="background-color: " rowspan="8" |

|17

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Isaji Tanaka

|December 3, 1966

|November 25, 1967

|18

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|121x121px

|Bunzo Akama

|November 25, 1967

|November 30, 1968

|19

!style="background-color: " |

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|Kichinosuke Saigo

|November 30, 1968

|January 14, 1970

|20

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Takeji Kobayashi

|January 14, 1970

|February 9, 1971

|21

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Daisuke Akita

|February 9, 1971

|February 17, 1971

|22

(12)

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Koshiro Ueki

|February 17, 1971

|July 5, 1971

|23

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|169x169px

|Shigesaburō Maeo

|July 5, 1971

|July 7, 1972

|24

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Yūichi Kōri

|July 7, 1972

|December 22, 1972

| style="background-color: " rowspan="4" |

| rowspan="4" |Kakuei Tanaka

|25

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Isaji Tanaka

|December 22, 1972

|November 25, 1973

|26

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Umekichi Nakamura

|November 25, 1973

|November 11, 1974

|27

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Seigo Hamano

|November 11, 1974

|December 9, 1974

|28

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|144x144px

|Osamu Inaba

|December 9, 1974

|December 24, 1976

!style="background-color: "|

|Takeo Miki

|29

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Hajime Fukuda

|December 24, 1976

|October 5, 1977

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |Takeo Fukuda

|30

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|145x145px

|Mitsuo Setayama

|October 5, 1977

|December 7, 1978

|31

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Yoshimi Furui

|December 7, 1978

|November 9, 1979

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |Masayoshi Ōhira

|32

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Tadao Kuraishi

|November 9, 1979

|July 17, 1980

|33

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|145x145px

|Seisuke Okuno

|July 17, 1980

|November 30, 1980

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |Zenkō Suzuki

|34

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|145x145px

|Michita Sakata

|November 30, 1980

|November 27, 1982

|35

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Hatano Akira

|November 27, 1982

|December 27, 1983

!style="background-color: " rowspan="5" |

| rowspan="5" |Yasuhiro Nakasone

|36

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Eisaku Sumi

|December 27, 1983

|November 1, 1984

|37

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Hitoshi Shimazaki

|November 1, 1984

|December 28, 1985

|38

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Seigo Suzuki

|December 28, 1985

|July 22, 1986

|39

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Kaname Endo

|July 22, 1986

|November 6, 1987

|40

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Yukio Hasegawa

|November 6, 1987

|December 27, 1988

!style="background-color: " rowspan="3" |

| rowspan="3" |Noboru Takeshita

|41

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Takashi Hasegawa

|December 27, 1998

|December 30, 1998

|42

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Masami Takatsuji

|December 30, 1998

|June 3 1989

|43

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|133x133px

|Kazuo Tanikawa

|June 3 1989

|August 10, 1989

!style="background-color: "|

|Sōsuke Uno

|44

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Masao Goto

|August 10, 1989

|February 28, 1990

| style="background-color: " rowspan="4" |

| rowspan="4" |Toshiki Kaifu

|45

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Shin Hasegawa

|February 28, 1990

|September 13, 1990

|46

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|145x145px

|Seiroku Kajiyama

|September 13, 1990

|December 29, 1990

|47

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Megumi Sato

|December 29, 1990

|November 5, 1991

|48

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Takashi Tawara

|November 5, 1991

|December 12, 1992

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

|rowspan="2" |Kiichi Miyazawa

|49

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|100x100px

|Masaharu Gotōda

|December 12, 1992

|August 9, 1993

|50

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|133x133px

|Akira Mikazuki

|August 9, 1993

|April 28, 1994

!style="background-color: "|

|Morihiro Hosokawa

|51

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Shigeto Nagano

|April 28, 1994

|May 8, 1994

! style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |Tsutomu Hata

|52

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|141x141px

|Hiroshi Nakai

|May 8, 1994

|June 30, 1994

|53

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Isao Maeda

|June 30, 1994

|August 8, 1995

! style="background-color: " rowspan="3" |

| rowspan="3" |Tomiichi Murayama

|54

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Tomoharu Tazawa

|August 8, 1995

|October 8, 1995

|55

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Hiroshi Miyazawa

|October 8, 1995

|January 11, 1996

|56

!style="background-color: " |

|

|Ritsuko Nagao

|January 11, 1996

|November 7, 1996

! style="background-color: " rowspan="3" |

| rowspan="3" |Ryutaro Hashimoto

|57

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|129x129px

|Isao Matsuura

|November 7, 1996

|September 11, 1997

|58

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|138x138px

|Kokichi Shimoinaba

|September 11, 1997

|July 30, 1998

|59

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|129x129px

|Shozaburo Nakamura

|July 30, 1998

|March 8, 1999

! style="background-color: " rowspan="3" |

| rowspan="3" |Keizō Obuchi

|60

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|130x130px

|Takao Jinnouchi

|March 8, 1999

|October 5, 1999

| rowspan="2" |61

! style="background-color: " rowspan="2" |

| rowspan="2" |frameless|127x127px

| rowspan="2" |Hideo Usui

| rowspan="2" |October 5, 1999

| rowspan="2" |July 4, 2000

| rowspan="2" |

| style="background-color: " rowspan="3" |

| rowspan="3" |Yoshirō Mori

|62

!style="background-color: " |

|frameless|124x124px

|Okiharu Yasuoka

|July 4, 2000

|December 5, 2000

|63

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Masahiko Kōmura

|December 5, 2000

|April 26, 2001

|64

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Mayumi Moriyama

|April 26, 2001

|September 22, 2003

!style="background-color: " rowspan=4|

|rowspan=4|Junichiro Koizumi

|65

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Daizō Nozawa

|September 22, 2003

|September 27, 2004

|66

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Chieko Nōno

|September 27, 2004

|October 31, 2005

|67

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Seiken Sugiura

|October 31, 2005

|September 26, 2006

|68

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Jinen Nagase

|September 26, 2006

|August 27, 2007

!style="background-color: " rowspan=2|

|rowspan=2|Shinzo Abe

|rowspan=2|69

!style="background-color: " rowspan=2|

|rowspan=2|100px

|rowspan=2|Kunio Hatoyama

|rowspan=2|August 27, 2007

|rowspan=2|August 2, 2008

|rowspan=2|

!style="background-color: " rowspan=2|

|rowspan=2|Yasuo Fukuda

|70

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Okiharu Yasuoka

|August 2, 2008

|September 24, 2008

|71

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Eisuke Mori

|September 24, 2008

|September 16, 2009

!style="background-color: " |

|Taro Aso

|rowspan=2|72

!style="background-color: " rowspan=2|

|rowspan=2|100px

|rowspan=2|Keiko Chiba

|rowspan=2|September 16, 2009

|rowspan=2|September 7, 2010

|rowspan=2|

!style="background-color: " |

|Yukio Hatoyama

!style="background-color: " rowspan=4|

|rowspan=4|Naoto Kan

|73

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Minoru Yanagida

|September 7, 2010

|November 22, 2010

|74

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Yoshito Sengoku

|November 22, 2010

|January 14, 2011

|75

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Satsuki Eda

|January 14, 2011

|September 2, 2011

|76

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Hideo Hiraoka

|September 2, 2011

|January 13, 2012

!style="background-color: " rowspan=5|

|rowspan=5|Yoshihiko Noda

|77

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Toshio Ogawa

|January 13, 2012

|June 4, 2012

|78

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Makoto Taki

|June 4, 2012

|October 1, 2012

|79

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Keishu Tanaka

|October 1, 2012

|October 23, 2012

|80<br />(78)

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Makoto Taki

|October 23, 2012

|December 26, 2012

|81

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Sadakazu Tanigaki

|December 26, 2012

|September 3, 2014

!style="background-color: " rowspan=9|

|rowspan=9|Shinzo Abe

|82

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Midori Matsushima

|September 3, 2014

|October 20, 2014

|83

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Yōko Kamikawa

|October 20, 2014

|October 7, 2015

|84

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Mitsuhide Iwaki

|October 7, 2015

|August 3, 2016

|85

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Katsutoshi Kaneda

|August 3, 2016

|August 3, 2017

|86<br />(83)

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Yōko Kamikawa

|August 3, 2017

|October 2, 2018

|87

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Takashi Yamashita

|October 2, 2018

|September 11, 2019

|88

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Katsuyuki Kawai

|September 11, 2019

|October 31, 2019

|89

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Masako Mori

|October 31, 2019

|September 16, 2020

|90<br />(83)

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Yōko Kamikawa

|September 16, 2020

|October 4, 2021

!style="background-color: "|

|Yoshihide Suga

|91

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Yoshihisa Furukawa

|October 4, 2021

|10 August 2022

!style="background-color: "rowspan=4|

|rowspan="4"|Fumio Kishida

|92

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Yasuhiro Hanashi

|10 August 2022

|11 November 2022

|93

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Ken Saitō

|November 11, 2022

|September 13, 2023

|94

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Ryuji Koizumi

|September 13, 2023

|October 1, 2024

|95

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Hideki Makihara

|October 1, 2024

|November 11, 2024

!style="background-color: " rowspan="2"|

|rowspan="2"|Shigeru Ishiba

|96

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Keisuke Suzuki

|November 11, 2024

|October 21, 2025

|97

!style="background-color: " |

|100px

|Hiroshi Hiraguchi

|October 21, 2025

|Incumbent

!style="background-color: "|

|Sanae Takaichi

Organization and authority

List of ministers of justice

References