The is a member of the cabinet and is the leader and chief executive of the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan.Cabinet Law, Article 13. The chief cabinet secretary coordinates the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch,Cabinet Law, Article 12, Paragraph 2, Item 4 and 5 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.Cabinet Law, Article 15 The chief cabinet secretary is the second in line of succession to the prime minister, and first if the office of the deputy prime minister is unoccupied.
History In March 1879, the precursor of the position, the secretary-general of the Cabinet, was created. From 1885, it was included as part of the cabinet system, and the position was known in Japanese as . The modern position was created on May 3, 1947, shortly after the passage of the Constitution of Japan, and elevated to ministerial status in 1966.
Since 1947, the office of chief cabinet secretary has been regarded as a stepping stone to the post of prime minister. The first chief cabinet secretary to become prime minister was Ichirō Hatoyama, who served in the position under Tanaka Giichi. Since then, eight other former chief cabinet secretaries have become prime ministers, most recently Shinzō Abe, Yasuo Fukuda, and Yoshihide Suga.
Yoshihide Suga, who later became Prime Minister of Japan, served as chief cabinet secretary under Shinzo Abe for nearly eight years, making him the longest-serving chief cabinet secretary in history, having overtaken the previous record of 1,289 days in office set by Fukuda on July 7, 2016.
The current chief cabinet secretary is Minoru Kihara, who took office on October 21, 2025.
List of secretaries-general of the cabinet
Shōwa era Seiji Tsukamoto (December 25, 1926 – April 20, 1927) Ichirō Hatoyama (April 20, 1927 – July 2, 1929) - later became prime minister in the mid-1950s. Fujiya Suzuki (July 2, 1929 – April 14, 1931) Takukichi Kawasaki (April 14, 1931 – December 13, 1931) 4 other holders (December 13, 1931 – October 19, 1934) Shigeru Yoshida (October 20, 1934 – May 11, 1935) - not to be confused with PM Shigeru Yoshida. Takekai Shirane (May 12, 1935 – March 9, 1936) 2 other holders (March 9, 1936 – June 4, 1937) Akira Kazami (June 4, 1937 – January 4, 1939) Harumichi Tanabe (January 4, 1939 – April 7, 1939) 3 other holders (April 7, 1939 – July 22, 1940) Kenji Tomita (July 22, 1940 – October 18, 1941) Naoki Hoshino (October 18, 1941 – July 22, 1944) 4 other holders (July 22, 1944 – 7 April 1945) Hisatsune Sakomizu (April 7, 1945 – August 15, 1945) Taketora Ogata (August, 15 1945 – October 5, 1945) Daizaburō Tsugita (October 9, 1945 – January 13, 1946) Wataru Narahashi (January 13, 1946 – May 22, 1946) Jōji Hayashi (May 22, 1946 – May 2, 1947)
List of chief cabinet secretaries Shōwa era
Chief Cabinet SecretaryTerm of officePrime MinisterPortraitNameTook officeLeft officeDaysJōji HayashiMay 3, 1947May 24, 1947 Shigeru YoshidaSuehiro NishioJune 1, 1947March 10, 1948 Tetsu KatayamaGizō TomabechiMarch 10, 1948October 15, 1948 Hitoshi AshidaEisaku SatōOctober 17, 1948February 16, 1949 Shigeru YoshidaKaneshichi MasudaFebruary 16, 1949May 6, 1950 Katsuo OkazakiMay 6, 1950December 26, 1951 Shigeru HoriDecember 26, 1951October 30, 1952 Taketora OgataOctober 30, 1952May 21, 1953 Kenji FukunagaMay 21, 1953December 10, 1954 Ryutarō NemotoDecember 10, 1954November 22, 1955 Ichirō HatoyamaNovember 22, 1955December 23, 1956Hirohide IshidaDecember 12, 1956July 10, 1957 Tanzan IshibashiNobusuke KishiKiichi AichiJuly 10, 1957June 12, 1958 Munenori AkagiJune 12, 1958June 18, 1959 Etsusaburō ShiinaJune 18, 1959July 19, 1960 Masayoshi ŌhiraJuly 19, 1960July 18, 1962 Hayato IkedaYasumi KuroganeJuly 18, 1962July 18, 1964 Zenkō SuzukiJuly 18, 1964November 9, 1964 Tomisaburō HashimotoNovember 9, 1964August 1, 1966 Eisaku SatōKiichi AichiAugust 1, 1966December 3, 1966 Kenji FukunagaDecember 3, 1966June 22, 1967 Toshio KimuraJune 22, 1967November 30, 1968 Shigeru HoriNovember 30, 1968July 5, 1971 Noboru TakeshitaJuly 5, 1971July 7, 1972 Susumu NikaidōJuly 7, 1972November 11, 1974 Kakuei TanakaNoboru TakeshitaNovember 11, 1974December 9, 1974 Ichitarō IdeDecember 9, 1974December 24, 1976 Takeo MikiSunao SonodaDecember 24, 1976November 28, 1977 Takeo FukudaShintaro AbeNovember 28, 1977December 7, 1978 Rokusuke TanakaDecember 7, 1978November 9, 1979Masayoshi ŌhiraMasayoshi ItoNovember 9, 1979July 17, 1980 Himself (Acting)Kiichi MiyazawaJuly 17, 1980November 27, 1982 Zenkō SuzukiMasaharu GotōdaNovember 27, 1982December 27, 1983 Yasuhiro NakasoneTakao FujinamiDecember 27, 1983December 28, 1985 Masaharu GotōdaDecember 28, 1985November 6, 1987 Keizō ObuchiNovember 6, 1987January 7, 1989 Noboru Takeshita
Heisei era
Chief Cabinet SecretaryTerm of officePrime MinisterPortraitNameTook officeLeft officeDaysKeizō ObuchiJanuary 8, 1989June 3, 1989 Noboru TakeshitaMasajuro ShiokawaJune 3, 1989August 10, 1989 Sōsuke UnoTokuo YamashitaAugust 10, 1989August 26, 1989 Toshiki KaifuMayumi MoriyamaAugust 26, 1989February 28, 1990 February 28, 1990November 5, 1991 Koichi KatoNovember 5, 1991December 12, 1992 Kiichi MiyazawaYōhei KōnoDecember 12, 1992August 9, 1993 Masayoshi TakemuraAugust 9, 1993April 28, 1994 Morihiro HosokawaApril 28, 1994June 30, 1994 Tsutomu HataKozo IgarashiJune 30, 1994August 8, 1995 Tomiichi MurayamaKoken NosakaAugust 8, 1995January 11, 1996 Seiroku KajiyamaJanuary 11, 1996September 11, 1997 Ryutaro HashimotoSeptember 11, 1997July 30, 1998 Hiromu NonakaJuly 30, 1998October 10, 1999Keizo ObuchiMikio AokiOctober 10, 1999July 4, 2000 Yoshiro MoriHidenao NakagawaJuly 4, 2000October 27, 2000 Yasuo FukudaOctober 27, 2000May 7, 2004 Junichiro KoizumiHiroyuki HosodaMay 7, 2004October 31, 2005 Shinzo AbeOctober 31, 2005September 26, 2006 Yasuhisa ShiozakiSeptember 26, 2006August 27, 2007 Shinzo AbeKaoru YosanoAugust 27, 2007September 26, 2007 Nobutaka MachimuraSeptember 26, 2007September 24, 2008 Yasuo FukudaTakeo KawamuraSeptember 24, 2008September 16, 2009 Taro AsoHirofumi HiranoSeptember 16, 2009June 8, 2010 Yukio HatoyamaYoshito SengokuJune 8, 2010January 4, 2011 Naoto KanYukio EdanoJanuary 4, 2011September 2, 2011 Osamu FujimuraSeptember 2, 2011December 26, 2012 Yoshihiko NodaYoshihide SugaDecember 26, 2012April 30, 2019 Shinzo Abe
Reiwa era
Chief Cabinet SecretaryTerm of officePrime MinisterPortraitNameTook officeLeft officeDaysYoshihide SugaMay 1, 2019September 16, 2020Shinzo AbeKatsunobu KatōSeptember 16, 2020October 4, 2021Yoshihide SugaHirokazu MatsunoOctober 4, 2021December 14, 2023Fumio KishidaYoshimasa HayashiDecember 14, 2023October 1, 2024October 1, 2024October 21, 2025Shigeru IshibaMinoru KiharaOctober 21, 2025IncumbentSanae Takaichi
See also White House Chief of Staff Chief Presidential Secretary
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