# Kan Cabinet

The Kan Cabinet was the cabinet governing Japan from June 2010 to September 2011 under the leadership of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who came into power after winning the DPJ leadership election in June 2010. The Kan Cabinet oversaw the response to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the scaling-down of Japan's nuclear energy dependence following the nuclear disaster at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

## Political background

The previous Prime Minister and DPJ president, Yukio Hatoyama resigned on 2 June 2010 on the background of an unpopular deal with the United States to retain the American military base in Okinawa and the DPJ's low poll numbers. Hatoyama's resignation triggered a DPJ presidential election, which was won by Finance Minister Naoto Kan. On 8 June, Kan was formally appointed by the Emperor as Japan's 94th Prime Minister. The new prime minister conducted a cabinet reshuffle and promoted some senior party members to important portfolios, notable Yoshihiko Noda to the Ministry of Finance and Yoshito Sengoku to the Cabinet Secretariat. Kan became the second DPJ prime minister in just eight months.
In spite of a temporary recovery in approval ratings, the government lost its majority in the House of Councillors in the July 2010 election and was subsequently dependent on parts of the opposition for getting any bill through the now-divided Diet.
His government poorly handled the response to the massive earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. The following nuclear accidents at private utility company TEPCO's nuclear power plant in Fukushima spurred the government to change the course of Japan's energy policy. Reversing the pro-nuclear policy of the previous administrations, Kan's government pushed for a conversion to renewable energy and eventual shut-down of Japan's nuclear plants. Japan's nuclear power plants were completely shut down by May 2012, leaving Japan without nuclear-generated electricity for the first time since 1970. Several of the plants were only brought back online after the DPJ was no longer in government. The LDP government led by Shinzo Abe gradually reopened the nuclear plants, starting with Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kyushu in August 2015. The restart has been slow due to legal challenges and heavy domestic opposition.

## Election of the prime minister

4 June 2010 :
| House of Representatives Absolute majority (239/477) required ||||
| Choice | Choice | Vote | Vote |
| Choice | Choice | Caucuses | Votes |
| | YNaoto Kan | DPJ (309), PNP (3), Independent [Speaker] (1) | 313 / 477 |
| | Sadakazu Tanigaki | LDP (115), Independent [Vice Speaker] (1) | 116 / 477 |
| | Natsuo Yamaguchi | Kōmeitō (21) | 21 / 477 |
| | Kazuo Shii | JCP (9) | 9 / 477 |
| | Mizuho Fukushima | Social Democratic Party of Japan (7) | 7 / 477 |
| | Yoshimi Watanabe | Your Party (5) | 5 / 477 |
| | Takeo Hiranuma | Sunrise Party (3), Hiranuma Group independents (2) | 5 / 477 |
| | Yōichi Masuzoe | Independent (1) | 1 / 477 |
| | Did not vote | Independent (2), DPJ (1) | 3 / 480 |
| Source: 174th Diet Session (House of Representatives) (roll call only lists individual votes, not grouped by caucus) ||||
4 June 2010 :
| House of Councillors Absolute majority (119/237) required ||||
| Choice | Choice | Vote | Vote |
| Choice | Choice | Caucuses | Votes |
| | YNaoto Kan | DPJーShin-RyokufūkaiーPNP (122), Independent (1) | 123 / 237 |
| | Sadakazu Tanigaki | LDP (68), Independent [Yasuhiro Ōe and Tamon Hasegawa] (2), Independent [Vice President] (1) | 71 / 237 |
| | Natsuo Yamaguchi | Kōmeitō (21) | 21 / 237 |
| | Kazuo Shii | JCP (7) | 7 / 237 |
| | Mizuho Fukushima | Social Democratic Party of Japan (5), Independent (1) | 6 / 237 |
| | Yōichi Masuzoe | New Renaissance Party (6) | 6 / 237 |
| | Takeo Hiranuma | Sunrise Party (2) | 2 / 237 |
| | Yoshimi Watanabe | Independent (1) | 1 / 237 |
| | Did not vote | LDP (2), HRP (1), Independent [President] (1) | 4 / 242 |
| | Vacant | Vacant | 1 / 242 |
| Source: 174th Diet Session (House of Councillors) (lists individual votes grouped by caucus) ||||

## Lists of ministers

Democratic  People's New  Independent R = Member of the House of Representatives C = Member of the House of Councillors N = Non-Diet member Italics denote acting minister

### Cabinet

Kan Cabinet from June 8 to September 17, 2010 :
| Portfolio | Minister | Minister | Term |
| Prime Minister | Naoto Kan | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Minister of State for Promotion of Local Sovereignty | Kazuhiro Haraguchi | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Justice | Keiko Chiba | C → N | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Katsuya Okada | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Finance | Yoshihiko Noda | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy | Tatsuo Kawabata | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare Minister of State for Pension Reform | Akira Nagatsuma | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Masahiko Yamada | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry | Masayuki Naoshima | C | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs | Seiji Maehara | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of the Environment | Sakihito Ozawa | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of Defence | Toshimi Kitazawa | C | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | Yoshito Sengoku | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister of State for Disaster Management | Hiroshi Nakai | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Financial Services Minister of State for Postal Reform | Shizuka Kamei | R | June 8–11, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Financial Services Minister of State for Postal Reform | Yoshito Sengoku | R | June 11, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Financial Services Minister of State for Postal Reform | Shōzaburō Jimi | C | June 11 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy | Satoshi Arai | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Gender Equality Minister of State for the New Public Commons | Koichiro Genba | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Promotion of Local Sovereignty | Kazuhiro Haraguchi | R | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |
| Minister of State for Government Revitalization | Renho | C | June 8 – September 17, 2010 |

### First reshuffled cabinet

Kan Cabinet from September 17, 2010, to January 14, 2011 :
| Portfolio | Minister | Minister | Term |
| Prime Minister | Naoto Kan | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Minister of State for Promotion of Local Sovereignty | Yoshihiro Katayama | N | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Justice | Minoru Yanagida | C | September 17 – November 22, 2010 |
| Minister of Justice | Yoshito Sengoku | R | November 22, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Seiji Maehara | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Finance | Yoshihiko Noda | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | Yoshiaki Takaki | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare Minister of State for Pension Reform | Ritsuo Hosokawa | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Michihiko Kano | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry | Akihiro Ohata | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs | Sumio Mabuchi | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of the Environment Minister of State for Disaster Management | Ryu Matsumoto | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of Defence | Toshimi Kitazawa | C | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | Yoshito Sengoku | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Gender Equality | Tomiko Okazaki | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Financial Services Minister of State for Postal Reform | Shōzaburō Jimi | C | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy | Banri Kaieda | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of State for the New Public Commons | Koichiro Genba | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Government Revitalization | Renho | C | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |

### Second reshuffled cabinet

Kan Cabinet from January 14 to September 2, 2011 :
| Portfolio | Minister | Minister | Term |
| Prime Minister | Naoto Kan | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Minister of State for Promotion of Local Sovereignty | Yoshihiro Katayama | N | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Justice | Satsuki Eda | C | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Seiji Maehara | R | January 14 – March 7, 2011 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Yukio Edano | R | March 7–9, 2011 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Takeaki Matsumoto | R | March 9 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Finance | Yoshihiko Noda | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology | Yoshiaki Takaki | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare Minister of State for Pension Reform | Ritsuo Hosokawa | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries | Michihiko Kano | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry | Banri Kaieda | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | Akihiro Ohata | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of the Environment | Ryu Matsumoto | R | January 14 – June 27, 2011 |
| Minister of the Environment | Satsuki Eda | R | June 27 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of Defence | Toshimi Kitazawa | C | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs | Yukio Edano | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Minister for the Abduction Issue | Kansei Nakano | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Disaster Management | Ryu Matsumoto | R | January 14 – July 7, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Disaster Management | Tatsuo Hirano | C | July 7 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Financial Services Minister of State for Postal Reform | Shōzaburō Jimi | C | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety | Renho | C | January 14 – June 27, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety | Goshi Hosono | R | June 27 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister of State for Gender Equality Minister for Total Reform of Social Security and Tax | Kaoru Yosano | R | January 14 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy Minister of State for the New Public Commons Minister for Space Policy | Koichiro Genba | R | September 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Government Revitalization | Renho | C | January 14 – June 27, 2011 |
| Minister of State for Government Revitalization | Yukio Edano | R | June 27 – September 2, 2011 |
| Minister of State for the Corporation in Support of Compensation for Nuclear Damage Minister for Power Saving Promotion Minister for the Restoration from and Prevention of Nuclear Accident | Goshi Hosono | R | August 10 – September 2, 2011 |