Ministries of Japan

The most influential part of the executive of the Japanese government are the ministries. In postwar politics, the posts of ministers have been given to senior legislators, mostly of the LDP. However, few ministers have been serving their terms for more than one or two years, and developed the necessary grisp of the organisation to become really influential. Thus, most of the power lies within the ministries, with the senior bureaucrats.

List of ministries

• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
  • Environmental Dispute Coordination Commission
  • Fire and Disaster Management Agency　
• Ministry of Justice
  • Public Security Examination Commission
  • Public Security Intelligence Agency
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Ministry of Finance
  • National Tax Agency
• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
  • Agency for Cultural Affairs
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
  • Social Insurance Agency
  • Central Labour Relations Commission
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
  • Fisheries Agency
  • Forestry Agency
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
  • Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
  • Small and Medium Enterprise Agency
  • Patent Office
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)
  • Japan Transport Safety Board
  • Japan Tourism Agency
  • Japan Meteorological Agency
  • Japan Coast Guard
• Ministry of the Environment
• Ministry of Defense
  • Self Defense Forces
  • Defense Facilities Administration Agency

Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office is responsible for handling the day to day affairs of the cabinet. It consists of:

• National Public Safety Commission
• National Police Agency
• Consumer Affairs Agency
• Financial Services Agency
• Fair Trade Commission

Former ministries

Before 2001

• Home Ministry (abolished in 1947)
• Ministry of War (abolished in 1945)
• Ministry of the Navy (abolished in 1945)
• Ministry of Colonial Affairs (abolished in 1942)
• Ministry of Greater East Asia (abolished in 1945)

2001 Central Government Reform

As a result of the Central Government Reform in 2001, many Ministries are reformed.

• Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (merged into Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry )
• Ministry of Construction (merged into Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport )
• Ministry of Transport (merged into Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport )
• Ministry of Home Affairs (merged into Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
• Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (divided into Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and Japan Post)
• Ministry of Education (merged into Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
• Ministry of Health and Welfare (merged into Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)
• Ministry of Labor (merged into Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

List of ministers

• Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務大臣).
• Minister of Justice (法務大臣)
• Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Measures for Declining Birthrate (内閣府特命担当大臣- 青少年育成及び少子化対策)
• Minister for Foreign Affairs (外務大臣)
• Minister of Finance (財務大臣)
• Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (文部教育大臣)
• Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働大臣)
• Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (農林水産大臣)
• Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業大臣)
• Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (国土交通大臣)
• Minister of the Environment (環境大臣)
• Minister of Defense (防衛大臣)
• Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs (内閣府特命担当大臣- 沖縄及び北方対策)
• Chief Cabinet Secretary (内閣官房長官)
• Minister of State for Gender Equality (内閣府特命担当大臣: 男女共同参画)
• Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission (国家公安委員会委員長)
• Minister of State for Disaster Management (内閣府特命担当大臣- 防災)
• Minister of State for National Emergency Legislation (内閣府特命担当大臣- 有事法制担当)
• Minister of State for Financial Policy (内閣府特命担当大臣- 金融)
• Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy (内閣府特命担当大臣- 経済財政政策)
• Minister of State for Privatization of the Postal Services (内閣府特命担当大臣- 郵政民営化担当)
• Minister of State for Regulatory Reform (内閣府特命担当大臣- 規制改革)
• Minister of State for Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (内閣府特命担当大臣- 産業再生機構)
• Minister of State for Administrative Reform (内閣府特命担当大臣- 行政改革担当)
• Minister of State for Special Zones for Structural Reform (内閣府特命担当大臣- 構造改革特区)
• Minister of State for Regional Revitalization (内閣府特命担当大臣- 地域再生担当)
• Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy (内閣府特命担当大臣- 科学技術政策)
• Minister of State for Food Safety (内閣府特命担当大臣- 食品安全)
• Minister of State for Information Technology (内閣府特命担当大臣- 情報通信技術（IT）担当)