Abe Shinzō’s Second Cabinet (December 2012)
Politics
After the general election of December 16, 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Kōmeitō wrested power back from the Democratic Party of Japan. On December 26, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō announced the lineup of his second cabinet.
- English
- 日本語
- 简体字
- 繁體字
- Français
- Español
- العربية
- Русский
| Position | Name | Party, district, times elected | Prior positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime minister | Abe Shinzō | LDP Lower house, Yamaguchi 4 7th time elected | Prime minister (2006–7) |
| Deputy prime minister Minister of finance Minister of state for financial services | Asō Tarō | LDP Lower house, Fukuoka 8 11th time elected | Prime minister (2008–9) |
| Minister for internal affairs and communications | Shindō Yoshitaka | LDP Lower house, Saitama 2 5th time elected | Senior vice minister of economy, trade, and industry (2007–8) |
| Minister of justice | Tanigaki Sadakazu | LDP Lower house, Kyoto 5 11th time elected | Minister of finance (2003–6), LDP president (2009–12) |
| Minister for foreign affairs | Kishida Fumio | LDP Lower house, Hiroshima 1 7th time elected | Minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs (2007–8) |
| Minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology | Shimomura Hakubun | LDP Lower house, Tokyo 11 6th time elected | Deputy chief cabinet secretary (2006–7), parliamentary secretary of education, culture, sports, science, and technology (2004–5) |
| Minister of health, labor, and welfare | Tamura Norihisa | LDP Lower house, Mie 4 6th time elected | Senior vice minister of internal affairs and communications (2006–7) |
| Minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries | Hayashi Yoshimasa | LDP Upper house, Yamaguchi 3rd time elected | Minister of defense (2008), minister of state for economic and fiscal policy (2009) |
| Minister of economy, trade, and industry | Motegi Toshimitsu | LDP Lower house, Tochigi 5 7th time elected | Minister of state for financial services (2008) |
| Minister of the environment Minister of state for nuclear emergency preparedness | Ishihara Nobuteru | LDP Lower house, Tokyo 8 8th time elected | Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism (2003–4) |
| Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism | Ōta Akihiro | Kōmeitō Lower house, Tokyo 12 6th time elected | Kōmeitō chief representative (2006–9) |
| Minister of defense | Onodera Itsunori | LDP Lower house, Miyagi 6 5th time elected | Senior vice minister for foreign affairs (2007–08) |
| Chief cabinet secretary Minister in charge of strengthening national security | Suga Yoshihide | LDP Lower house, Kanagawa 2 6th time elected | Minister for internal affairs and communications (2006–7) |
| Minister for reconstruction Minister in charge of comprehensive policy coordination for revival from the nuclear accident at Fukushima | Nemoto Takumi | LDP Lower house, Fukushima 2 6th time elected | Senior vice minister of the Cabinet Office (2002–3), special advisor to the prime minister (2002–3, 2006–7) |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister in charge of the abduction issue Minister in charge of the nation’s infrustructure resilience Minister of state for disaster management | Furuya Keiji | LDP Lower house, Gifu 5 8th time elected | Senior vice minister of economy, trade, and industry (2001–2) |
| Minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs Minister of state for science and technology policy Minister of state for space policy Minister in charge of information technology policy Minister in charge of ocean policy and territorial issues | Yamamoto Ichita | LDP Upper house, Gunma 3rd time elected | Senior vice minister for foreign affairs (2008) |
| Minister of state for consumer affairs and food safety Minister in charge of support for women’s empowerment and child-rearing Minister of state for measures for the declining birthrate Minister of state for gender equality | Mori Masako | LDP Upper house, Fukushima 1st time elected | Lawyer, Financial Services Agency |
| Minister in charge of economic revitalization Minister in charge of total reform of social security and tax Minister of state for economic and fiscal policy | Amari Akira | LDP Lower house, Kanagawa 13 10th time elected | Minister of economy, trade, and industry (2006–8) |
| Minister in charge of administrative reform Minister in charge of civil service reform Minister in charge of “Cool Japan” strategy Minister in charge of the “Challenge Again” initiative Minister of state for regulatory reform | Inada Tomomi | LDP Lower house, Fukui 1 3rd time elected | LDP deputy secretary-general (2010–12), lawyer |
| Deputy chief cabinet secretary | Katō Katsunobu | LDP Lower house, Okayama 5 4th time elected | Parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office (2007–8) |
| Deputy chief cabinet secretary | Sekō Hiroshige | LDP Upper house, Wakayama 3rd time elected | Special advisor to the prime minister (2006–7) |
| Deputy chief cabinet secretary | Sugita Kazuhiro | National Police Agency Security Bureau Chief (1994–97), deputy chief cabinet secretary for crisis management (2001–4) | |
| Director-general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau | Yamamoto Tsuneyuki | ||
In the general election held on December 16, 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party secured 294 seats in the lower house, well over the 241 needed for a majority. The LDP thus returned to power with its coalition partner, New Kōmeitō. In the leadership election that took place in both houses of the Diet on December 26, Abe Shinzō was elected prime minister of Japan, leading the country once again just over five years after previously holding the same office. The last person to accomplish the feat of becoming prime minister twice nonconsecutively was Yoshida Shigeru (1946–47 and 1948–54), making this the second time since the end of World War II.
The average age of the cabinet ministers is 57.7 and there are two women: Inada Tomomi, in charge of administrative reform, and Mori Masako, who holds the consumer affairs, gender equality, and other portfolios.
government politics Diet election LDP Lower House Komeito House of Representatives cabinet minister ministry