The Minister for Foreign Affairs (外務大臣 Gaimu Daijin) of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on external relations. The recent efforts of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to establish a more interventionist foreign policy have also heightened the importance of the position.
The position is currently held by Kōichirō Genba.
Contents |
| # | Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19th century | |||
| 1 | Inoue Kaoru | 1885 | 1887 |
| 2 | Itō Hirobumi | 1887 | 1888 |
| 3 | Ōkuma Shigenobu (1st) |
1888 | 1889 |
| 4 | Aoki Shūzō (1st) |
1889 | 1891 |
| 5 | Enomoto Takeaki | 1891 | 1892 |
| 6 | Mutsu Munemitsu | 1892 | 1896 |
| 7 | Saionji Kinmochi (1st) |
1896 | 1896 |
| 3 | Ōkuma Shigenobu (2nd) |
1896 | 1897 |
| 8 | Nishi Tokujirō | 1897 | 1898 |
| 3 | Ōkuma Shigenobu (3rd) |
1898 | 1898 |
| 4 | Aoki Shūzō (2nd) |
1898 | 1900 |
| 20th century | |||
| 9 | Katō Takaaki (1st) |
1900 | 1901 |
| 10 | Sone Arasuke | 1901 | 1901 |
| 11 | Komura Jutarō (1st) |
1901 | 1906 |
| 9 | Katō Takaaki (2nd) |
1906 | 1906 |
| 7 | Saionji Kinmochi (2nd) |
1906 | 1906 |
| 12 | Hayashi Tadasu | 1906 | 1908 |
| 13 | Terauchi Masatake (1st) |
1908 | 1908 |
| 11 | Komura Jutarō (2nd) |
1908 | 1911 |
| 14 | Uchida Kosai (1st) |
1911 | 1912 |
| 15 | Katsura Tarō | 1912 | 1913 |
| 9 | Katō Takaaki (2nd) |
1913 | 1913 |
| 16 | Makino Nobuaki | 1913 | 1914 |
| 9 | Katō Takaaki (3rd) |
1914 | 1915 |
| 3 | Ōkuma Shigenobu (4th) |
1915 | 1915 |
| 17 | Ishii Kikujirō | 1915 | 1916 |
| 13 | Terauchi Masatake (2nd) |
1916 | 1916 |
| 18 | Motono Ichirō | 1916 | 1918 |
| 19 | Gotō Shinpei | 1918 | 1918 |
| 14 | Uchida Kosai (2nd) |
1918 | 1923 |
| 20 | Yamamoto Gonnohyōe | 1923 | 1923 |
| 21 | Hikokichi Ijuin | 1923 | 1924 |
| 22 | Matsui Keishirō | 1924 | 1924 |
| 23 | Kijūrō Shidehara (1st) |
1924 | 1927 |
| 24 | Tanaka Giichi | 1927 | 1929 |
| 23 | Kijūrō Shidehara (2nd) |
1929 | 1931 |
| 25 | Inukai Tsuyoshi | 1931 | 1932 |
| 26 | Kenkichi Yoshizawa | 1932 | 1932 |
| 27 | Saitō Makoto | 1932 | 1932 |
| 14 | Uchida Kosai (3rd) |
1932 | 1933 |
| 28 | Kōki Hirota (1st) |
1933 | 1936 |
| 29 | Hachirō Arita (1st) |
1936 | 1937 |
| 30 | Senjuro Hayashi | 1937 | 1937 |
| 31 | Naotake Satō | 1937 | 1937 |
| 28 | Kōki Hirota (2nd) |
1937 | 1938 |
| 32 | Kazushige Ugaki | 1938 | 1938 |
| 29 | Hachirō Arita (2nd) |
1938 | 1939 |
| 33 | Nobuyuki Abe | 1939 | 1939 |
| 34 | Kichisaburō Nomura | 1939 | 1940 |
| 29 | Hachirō Arita (3rd) |
1940 | 1940 |
| 35 | Yōsuke Matsuoka | 1940 | 1941 |
| 36 | Teijirō Toyoda | 1941 | 1941 |
| 37 | Shigenori Tōgō (1st) |
1941 | 1942 |
| 38 | Hideki Tōjō | 1942 | 1942 |
| 39 | Masayuki Tani | 1942 | 1943 |
| 40 | Mamoru Shigemitsu (1st) |
1943 | 1945 |
| 41 | Kantarō Suzuki | 1945 | 1945 |
| 37 | Shigenori Tōgō (2nd) |
1945 | 1945 |
| 40 | Mamoru Shigemitsu (2nd) |
1945 | 1945 |
| 42 | Shigeru Yoshida (1st) |
1945 | 1947 |
| 43 | Hitoshi Ashida | 1947 | 1948 |
| 42 | Shigeru Yoshida (2nd) |
1948 | 1952 |
| Katsuo Okazaki | 1952 | 1954 | |
| 40 | Mamoru Shigemitsu (3rd) |
1954 | 1956 |
| 44 | Nobusuke Kishi | 1956 | 1957 |
| 45 | Aiichiro Fujiyama | 1957 | 1960 |
| 46 | Zentaro Kosaka (1st) |
1960 | 1962 |
| 47 | Masayoshi Ōhira (1st) |
1962 | 1964 |
| 48 | Shiina Etsusaburo | 1964 | 1966 |
| 49 | Takeo Miki | 1966 | 1968 |
| 50 | Kiichi Aichi | 1968 | 1971 |
| 51 | Takeo Fukuda | 1971 | 1972 |
| 47 | Masayoshi Ōhira (2nd) |
1972 | 1974 |
| 52 | Toshio Kimura | 1974 | 1974 |
| 53 | Kiichi Miyazawa | 1974 | 1976 |
| 46 | Zentaro Kosaka (2nd) |
1976 | 1976 |
| 54 | Iichirō Hatoyama | 1976 | 1977 |
| 55 | Sunao Sonoda (1st) |
1977 | 1979 |
| 56 | Saburo Okita | 1979 | 1980 |
| 57 | Masayoshi Ito | 1980 | 1981 |
| 55 | Sunao Sonoda (2nd) |
1981 | 1981 |
| 58 | Yoshio Sakurauchi | 1981 | 1982 |
| 57 | Shintaro Abe | 1982 | 1986 |
| 58 | Tadashi Kuranari | 1986 | 1987 |
| 59 | Sōsuke Uno | 1987 | 1989 |
| 60 | Hiroshi Mitsuzuka | 1989 | 1989 |
| 61 | Taro Nakayama | 1989 | 1991 |
| 62 | Michio Watanabe | 1991 | 1993 |
| 63 | Kabun Muto | 1993 | 1993 |
| 64 | Tsutomu Hata | 1993 | 1994 |
| 65 | Koji Kakizawa | 1994 | 1994 |
| 66 | Yohei Kono (1st) |
1994 | 1996 |
| 67 | Yukihiko Ikeda | 1996 | 1997 |
| 68 | Keizō Obuchi | 1997 | 1998 |
| 69 | Masahiko Kōmura (1st) |
1998 | 1999 |
| 66 | Yohei Kono (2nd) |
1999 | 2001 |
| 21st century | |||
| 70 | Makiko Tanaka | 2001 | 2002 |
| 71 | Junichiro Koizumi | 2002 | 2002 |
| 72 | Yoriko Kawaguchi | 2002 | 2004 |
| 73 | Nobutaka Machimura (1st) |
2004 | 2005 |
| 74 | Tarō Asō | 2005 | 2007 |
| 73 | Nobutaka Machimura (2nd) |
2007 | 2007 |
| 69 | Masahiko Kōmura (2nd) |
2007 | 2008 |
| 75 | Hirofumi Nakasone | 2008 | 2009 |
| 76 | Katsuya Okada | 2009 | 2010 |
| 77 | Seiji Maehara | 2010 | 2011 |
| Yukio Edano (acting) | 2011 | 2011 | |
| 78 | Takeaki Matsumoto | 2011 | 2011 |
| 79 | Kōichirō Genba | 2011 | Present |
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