# Second Abe Cabinet

The Second Abe Cabinet governed Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe from December 2012 to December 2014. Following the return to power of the LDP in the 2012 general election, Abe, as party president, was elected Prime Minister by the National Diet on December 26, 2012, and presented his cabinet for swearing in by the Emperor later that day. Abe formed a coalition with the New Komeito Party, which has partnered with the LDP since the late 1990s, appointing former leader Akihiro Ota as Minister of Land. Together the two parties controlled a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, allowing the new government in most matters to override the veto of the upper house which was controlled by the opposition parties until July 2013.
This cabinet was the most stable in post-war Japanese history, with no ministerial changes for 617 days until Abe conducted a reshuffle on September 3, 2014. The core ministers for Finance, Foreign Affairs, Economic Revival, Education, Land and the Chief Cabinet Secretary were all kept in post. In addition, Abe promoted 3 women to cabinet, matching the Koizumi cabinet's record of 5 women ministers.
Following the 2014 general election, the Second Abe cabinet was dissolved on December 24, 2014, and replaced with the Third Abe cabinet.

## Election of the prime minister

26 December 2012 :
| House of Representatives ||||
| Choice | Choice | Vote | Vote |
| Choice | Choice | Parties | Votes |
| | YShinzō Abe | LDP (294), NKP (31), Independents (3) | 328 / 480 |
| | Banri Kaieda | DPJ (57) | 57 / 480 |
| | Shintaro Ishihara | JRP (54) | 54 / 480 |
| | Yoshimi Watanabe | YP (18) | 18 / 480 |
| | Kazuo Shii | Communist (8) | 8 / 480 |
| | Yuko Mori | PLP (7) | 7 / 480 |
| | Mizuho Fukushima | SDP (2) | 2 / 480 |
| | Shozaburo Jimi | PNP (1) | 1 / 480 |
| | Abstentions | Independents (2) | 2 / 480 |
| Source: 182nd Diet, December 26 House of Representatives plenary session Archived 2016-09-18 at the Wayback Machine ||||
182nd Diet, 26 December 2012 House of Councillors plenary session :
| Designation of a prime minister |||
| Candidate | First round | Runoff |
| Y Shinzō Abe | 107 | 107 |
| Banri Kaieda | 87 | 96 |
| Yoshimi Watanabe | 11 | – |
| Yūko Mori | 8 | – |
| Kazuo Shii | 6 | – |
| Mizuho Fukushima | 5 | – |
| Shōzaburō Jimi | 3 | – |
| Shintarō Ishihara | 3 | – |
| Shizuka Kamei | 1 | – |
| Invalid votes | 0 | 1 |
| Blank ballots | 3 | 30 |
| Total votes cast | 234 (→majority at 118) | 234 |

## Lists of ministers

Liberal Democratic  New Komeito R = Member of the House of Representatives C = Member of the House of Councillors

### Cabinet

Second Abe Cabinet from December 26, 2012 to September 3, 2014 :
| Portfolio | Minister | Minister | Term |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe | R | December 26, 2012 – September 16, 2020 |
| Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance Minister of State for Financial Services Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation and Countering Yen Appreciation | Tarō Asō | R | December 26, 2012 – October 4, 2021 |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Minister of State for Decentralization Reform Minister in charge of Regional Revitalization Minister in charge of Regional Government | Yoshitaka Shindō | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister of Justice | Sadakazu Tanigaki | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Fumio Kishida | R | December 26, 2012 – August 3, 2017 |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister in charge of Education Rebuilding Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games | Hakubun Shimomura | R | December 26, 2012 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare | Norihisa Tamura | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Yoshimasa Hayashi | C | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation Facilitation Corporation Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Accident Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness | Toshimitsu Motegi | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | Akihiro Ota | R | December 26, 2012 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness | Nobuteru Ishihara | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister of Defence | Itsunori Onodera | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister in charge of Strengthening National Security | Yoshihide Suga | R | December 26, 2012 – September 16, 2021 |
| Minister of Reconstruction Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima | Takumi Nemoto | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister in charge of the Abduction Issue Minister in charge of Building National Resilience Minister of State for Disaster Management | Keiji Furuya | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| 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 | Ichita Yamamoto | C | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Minister in charge of Support for Women's Empowerment and Child-Rearing Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Gender Equality | Masako Mori | C | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| 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 | Akira Amari | R | December 26, 2012 – January 28, 2016 |
| Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform Minister in charge of "Cool Japan" Strategy Minister in charge of "Challenge Again" Initiative Minister of State for Regulatory Reform | Tomomi Inada | R | December 26, 2012 – September 3, 2014 |
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries |||||
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs – House of Representatives) | Katsunobu Kato | R | December 26, 2012 – October 7, 2015 |
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs – House of Councillors) | Hiroshige Seko | C | December 26, 2012 – August 13, 2016 |
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Bureaucrat) | Kazuhiro Sugita | – | December 26, 2012 – October 4, 2021 |

### Reshuffled cabinet

Second Abe Cabinet from September 3, 2014 to December 24, 2014 :
| Portfolio | Minister | Minister | Term |
| Prime Minister | Shinzō Abe | R | December 26, 2012 – September 16, 2020 |
| Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance Minister of State for Financial Services Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation | Tarō Asō | R | December 26, 2012 – October 4, 2021 |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications | Sanae Takaichi | R | September 3, 2014 – August 3, 2017 |
| Minister of Justice | Midori Matsushima | R | September 3, 2014 – October 20, 2014 |
| Minister of Justice | Yōko Kamikawa | R | October 20, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Fumio Kishida | R | December 26, 2012 – August 3, 2017 |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister in charge of Education Rebuilding Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games | Hakubun Shimomura | R | December 26, 2012 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare | Yasuhisa Shiozaki | R | September 3, 2014 – August 3, 2017 |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Koya Nishikawa | R | September 3, 2014 – February 23, 2015 |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Accident Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation | Yūko Obuchi | R | September 3, 2014 – October 20, 2014 |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Accident Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation | Yoichi Miyazawa | C | October 20, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister in charge of Water Cycle Policy | Akihiro Ota | R | December 26, 2012 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness | Yoshio Mochizuki | R | September 3, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister of Defence Minister in charge of Security Legislation | Akinori Eto | R | September 3, 2014 – December 24, 2014 |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the Bases in Okinawa | Yoshihide Suga | R | December 26, 2012 – September 16, 2020 |
| Minister of Reconstruction Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima | Wataru Takeshita | R | September 3, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister in charge of the Abduction Issue Minister in charge of Ocean Policy and Territorial Issues Minister in charge of Building National Resilience Minister of State for Disaster Management | Eriko Yamatani | C | September 3, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| 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 "Challenge Again" Initiative Minister in charge of "Cool Japan" Strategy | Shunichi Yamaguchi | R | September 3, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| Minister in charge of Support for Women's Empowerment Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Gender Equality | Haruko Arimura | C | September 3, 2014 – October 7, 2015 |
| 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 | Akira Amari | R | December 26, 2012 – January 28, 2016 |
| Minister in charge of Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalizing Local Economy in Japan Minister of State for the National Strategic Special Zones | Shigeru Ishiba | R | September 3, 2014 – August 3, 2016 |
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries |||||
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs – House of Representatives) | Katsunobu Kato | R | December 26, 2012 – October 7, 2015 |
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Political Affairs – House of Councillors) | Hiroshige Seko | C | December 26, 2012 – August 13, 2016 |
| Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Bureaucrat) | Kazuhiro Sugita | – | December 26, 2012 – October 4, 2021 |

#### Changes

* October 20 – Justice Minister Midori Matsushima and Economy Minister Yūko Obuchi, both resigned due to campaign finance scandals, and were replaced with Yōko Kamikawa and Yoichi Miyazawa, respectively. This reduced the number of women in cabinet to 4.