Minister of Defense (Japan)

The , or , is a member of the Japanese cabinet and is the leader of the 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.

The minister of defense is appointed by the Prime Minister and is a member of the National Security Council and the National Intelligence Council. The current Minister of Defense is Shinjirō Koizumi, who took office on October 21, 2025.

History On 26 December 2007, the Government of Japan made the decision to reform its Defense Agency to the Ministry of Defense in the expectation to have a far-reaching effect on Japan's future military development. The defense policy that has been pursued by Japan is based on the "Basic Policy for National Defense", which was adopted by the Cabinet in May 1957. Japan's main goal of national defense is the prevention of indirect as well as direct aggression from outside enemies.

The Japanese government reformed the Defense Agency to the Ministry of Defense with a ceremony that was attended by then Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and the then-new Minister of Defense Fumio Kyuma. The creation of the Ministry of Defense was in conjunction with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's continued efforts to ensure a stronger image of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The bill in which to upgrade the Defense Agency to the Ministry of Defense was approved by the House of Representatives (lower house) in November 2006, and the House of Councillors (upper house) in mid-December 2006. Minister Kyuma personally attended a session in the House of Councillors and gave a speech after the bill was approved.

On 11 September 2019, Taro Kono became the first high-profile 'prime minister-ready' politician to head the Ministry of Defense. He has the strongest LDP factional backing of any defense minister thus far. His social media following is second only to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He's a leading candidate for post-Abe premiership. Kono previously held the prominent role of foreign minister.

Chain of command Prime Minister Minister of Defense Chief of Staff, Joint Staff

Structure The Commander-in-Chief of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), who does not formally constitute a uniformed military, is the Prime Minister. The Emperor of Japan is a constitutional monarch who does not have political or military authority over the JSDF; that authority rests with the Prime Minister. However, the Emperor formally appoints the Prime Minister to office. The Minister of Defense is responsible for the organization and formulating the national security policy. The budget request is drafted by the Ministry of Finance and making its own legislative proposals to the National Diet.

The Minister of Defense is advised on every concern related to the duties of the Japan Self-Defense Forces by the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff.

List of ministers of defense (2007–present)

Minister of DefenseTerm of officePrime Minister#PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeTime in office1Fumio KyumaJanuary 9, 2007July 4, 2007 Shinzō Abe2Yuriko KoikeJuly 4, 2007August 27, 2007 3Masahiko KōmuraAugust 27, 2007September 26, 2007 4Shigeru IshibaSeptember 26, 2007August 2, 2008 Yasuo Fukuda5Yoshimasa HayashiAugust 2, 2008September 24, 2008 6Yasukazu HamadaSeptember 24, 2008September 16, 2009 Taro Aso7Toshimi KitazawaSeptember 16, 2009September 2, 2011 Yukio HatoyamaNaoto Kan8Yasuo IchikawaSeptember 2, 2011January 13, 2012 Yoshihiko Noda9Naoki TanakaJanuary 13, 2012June 4, 2012 10Satoshi MorimotoJune 4, 2012December 26, 2012 11Itsunori OnoderaDecember 26, 2012September 3, 2014 Shinzō Abe12Akinori EtoSeptember 3, 2014December 24, 2014 13Gen NakataniDecember 24, 2014August 3, 2016 14Tomomi InadaAugust 3, 2016July 28, 2017 –Fumio Kishida (Acting)July 28, 2017August 3, 201715(11)Itsunori OnoderaAugust 3, 2017October 2, 2018 16Takeshi IwayaOctober 2, 2018September 11, 2019 17Taro KonoSeptember 11, 2019September 16, 2020 18Nobuo KishiSeptember 16, 2020August 10, 2022Yoshihide SugaFumio Kishida19(6)Yasukazu HamadaAugust 10, 2022September 13, 2023 20Minoru KiharaSeptember 13, 2023October 1, 202421(13)Gen NakataniOctober 1, 2024October 21, 2025Shigeru Ishiba22Shinjirō KoizumiOctober 21, 2025IncumbentSanae Takaichi

Allied occupation of Japan

Following the end of World War II, the Armed Forces of the Empire of Japan were disbanded and US forces took control. From 1950 to 1952, the National Police Reserve led by Minister of State Takeo Ōhashi was formed. It was renamed as the National Safety Force in 1952. In 1952, the Coastal Safety Force, the waterborne counterpart of the National Police Reserve, was founded and led by the Tokutarō Kimura.

Directors general of the Defense Agency These are the directors general of the Defense Agency. It is the predecessor of the Ministry of Defense which was established on 9 January 2007.

Tokutarō Kimura 1954 Seiichi Ōmura 1954–1955 Arata Sugihara 1955 Shigemasa Sunada 1955 Funada Naka 1955–1956 Tanzan Ishibashi 1956–1957 Nobusuke Kishi 1957 Akira Kodaki 1957 Juichi Tsushima 1957–1958 Gisen Satō 1958–1959 Shigejirō Inō 1959 Munenori Akagi 1959–1960 Masumi Esaki 1960 Naomi Nishimura 1960 Sensuke Fujieda 1961–1962 Kenjirō Shiga 1962–1963 Fukuda Tokuyasu 1963–1964 Jun'ya Koizumi 1964–1965 Raizo Matsuno 1965–1966 Eikichi Kanbayashiyama 1966 Kaneshichi Masuda 1966–1968 Kiichi Arita 1968–1970 Yasuhiro Nakasone 1970–1971 Keiichi Masuhara 1971 Naomi Nishimura 1971 Ezaki Masumi 1971–1972 Keiichi Masuhara 1972–1973 Yamanaka Yasunori 1973–1974 Sōsuke Uno 1974 Michita Sakata 1974–1976 Asao Mihara 1976–1977 Shin Kanemaru 1977–1978 Ganri Yamashita 1978–1979 Enji Kubota 1979–1980 Yoshizo Hosoda 1980 Koji Omura 1980–1981 Soichiro Ito 1981–1982 Kazuho Tanigawa 1982–1983 Kurihara Yoshiyuki 1983–1984 Koichi Kato 1984–1986 Kurihara Yoshiyuki 1986–1987 Tsutomu Kawara 1987–1988 Kichirō Tazawa 1988–1989 Taku Yamasaki 1989 Jūrō Matsumoto 1989–1990 Yozo Ishikawa 1990 Yukihiko Ikeda 1990–1991 Sohei Miyashita 1991–1992 Toshio Nakayama 1992–1993 Nakanishi Keisuke 1993 Kazuo Aichi 1993–1994 Atsushi Kanda 1994 Tokuichiro Tamazawa 1994–1995 Seishirō Etō 1995–1996 Hideo Usui 1996 Fumio Kyūma 1996–1998 Fukushiro Nukaga 1998 Hosei Norota 1998–1999 Riki Kawara 1999–2000 Kazuo Torashima 2000 Toshitsugu Saito 2000–2001 Gen Nakatani 2001–2002 Shigeru Ishiba 2002–2004 Yoshinori Ohno 2004–2005 Fukushiro Nukaga 2005–2006 Fumio Kyūma 2006–2007

Ministers with military experience

Although Article 68 of the Constitution states that all members of the Cabinet must be civilians, former military persons may be appointed Minister of Defense.

Raizo Matsuno - served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and rose to rank of Lieutenant commander Yasuhiro Nakasone - served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and rose to rank of Lieutenant commander and worked as Paymaster Sōsuke Uno - served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and rose to rank of Second Lieutenant Soichiro Ito - served in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and rose to rank of Second Lieutenant Shin Kanemaru - served briefly in the Kwantung Army as Sergeant in 1937-1938 and was discharged due to illness Satoshi Morimoto - served in Japan Air Self-Defense Force and rose to rank as Major Gen Nakatani - served in Japan Ground Self-Defense Force as platoon leader and instructor with rank of Lieutenant

Minister of Defense (Japan)

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