# Chief Cabinet Secretary

The chief cabinet secretary of Japan (内閣官房長官, Naikaku-kanbō-chōkan) is a member of the cabinet and is the leader and chief executive of the Cabinet Secretariat of Japan. The chief cabinet secretary coordinates the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch, and also serves as the government's press secretary. The secretary is a statutory member of the National Security Council, and is appointed by the emperor upon the nomination by the prime minister. The chief cabinet secretary is the second in line of succession to the prime minister, and 1st if the office of the deputy prime minister is unoccupied.

## History

In March 1879, the precursor of the position, the Secretary-General of the Cabinet, was created. From 1885, it was included as part of the cabinet system, and the position was known in Japanese as 内閣書記官長 (naikaku-shokikan-chō). The modern position was created on May 3, 1947, shortly after the passage of the Constitution of Japan, and elevated to ministerial status in 1966.
Since 1947, the office of Chief Cabinet Secretary has been regarded as a stepping stone to the post of Prime Minister. The first chief cabinet secretary to become Prime Minister was Ichirō Hatoyama, who served in the position under Tanaka Giichi. Since then, eight other former chief cabinet secretaries have become prime ministers, most recently Shinzō Abe, Yasuo Fukuda, and Yoshihide Suga.
Yoshihide Suga, who later became Prime Minister of Japan, served as Chief Cabinet Secretary under Shinzo Abe for nearly eight years, making him the longest-serving chief cabinet secretary in history, having overtaken the previous record of 1,289 days in office set by Fukuda on July 7, 2016.
The current chief cabinet secretary is Yoshimasa Hayashi, who took office on December 14, 2023.

## List of secretaries-general of the cabinet
### Shōwa era

* Seiji Tsukamoto (December 25, 1926 – April 20, 1927)
* Ichirō Hatoyama (April 20, 1927 – July 2, 1929) - later became prime minister in the mid-1950s.
* Fujiya Suzuki (July 2, 1929 – April 14, 1931)
* Takukichi Kawasaki (April 14, 1931 – December 13, 1931)
* 4 other holders (December 13, 1931 – October 19, 1934)
* Shigeru Yoshida (October 20, 1934 – May 11, 1935) - not to be confused with PM Shigeru Yoshida.
* Takekai Shirane (May 12, 1935 – March 9, 1936)
* 2 other holders (March 9, 1936 – June 4, 1937)
* Akira Kazami (June 4, 1937 – January 4, 1939)
* Harumichi Tanabe (January 4, 1939 – April 7, 1939)
* 3 other holders (April 7, 1939 – July 22, 1940)
* Kenji Tomita (July 22, 1940 – October 18, 1941)
* Naoki Hoshino (October 18, 1941 – July 22, 1944)
* 4 other holders (July 22, 1944 – 7 April 1945)
* Hisatsune Sakomizu (April 7, 1945 – August 15, 1945)
* Taketora Ogata (August, 15 1945 – October 5, 1945)
* Daizaburō Tsugita (October 9, 1945 – January 13, 1946)
* Wataru Narahashi (January 13, 1946 – May 22, 1946)
* Jōji Hayashi (May 22, 1946 – May 2, 1947)

## List of chief cabinet secretaries
### Shōwa era

Liberal (1945)  Socialist  Democratic (1947)  Democratic Liberal  Liberal (1950)  Democratic (1954)  Liberal Democratic
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| Portrait | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Days | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | | Jōji Hayashi | May 3, 1947 | May 24, 1947 | 21 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Suehiro Nishio | June 1, 1947 | March 10, 1948 | 283 | | Tetsu Katayama |
| | | Gizō Tomabechi | March 10, 1948 | October 15, 1948 | 219 | | Hitoshi Ashida |
| | | Eisaku Satō | October 17, 1948 | February 16, 1949 | 122 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Kaneshichi Masuda | February 16, 1949 | May 6, 1950 | 444 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Katsuo Okazaki | May 6, 1950 | December 26, 1951 | 599 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Shigeru Hori | December 26, 1951 | October 30, 1952 | 309 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Taketora Ogata | October 30, 1952 | May 21, 1953 | 203 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Kenji Fukunaga | May 21, 1953 | December 10, 1954 | 568 | | Shigeru Yoshida |
| | | Ryutarō Nemoto | December 10, 1954 | November 22, 1955 | 744 | | Ichirō Hatoyama |
| | | Ryutarō Nemoto | November 22, 1955 | December 23, 1956 | 744 | | Ichirō Hatoyama |
| | | Hirohide Ishida | December 12, 1956 | July 10, 1957 | 210 | | Tanzan Ishibashi |
| | | Hirohide Ishida | December 12, 1956 | July 10, 1957 | 210 | | Nobusuke Kishi |
| | | Kiichi Aichi | July 10, 1957 | June 12, 1958 | 337 | | Nobusuke Kishi |
| | | Munenori Akagi | June 12, 1958 | June 18, 1959 | 371 | | Nobusuke Kishi |
| | | Etsusaburō Shiina | June 18, 1959 | July 19, 1960 | 397 | | Nobusuke Kishi |
| | | Masayoshi Ōhira | July 19, 1960 | July 18, 1962 | 729 | | Hayato Ikeda |
| | | Yasumi Kurogane | July 18, 1962 | July 18, 1964 | 731 | | Hayato Ikeda |
| | | Zenkō Suzuki | July 18, 1964 | November 9, 1964 | 114 | | Hayato Ikeda |
| | | Tomisaburō Hashimoto | November 9, 1964 | August 1, 1966 | 630 | | Eisaku Satō |
| | | Kiichi Aichi | August 1, 1966 | December 3, 1966 | 124 | | Eisaku Satō |
| | | Kenji Fukunaga | December 3, 1966 | June 22, 1967 | 201 | | Eisaku Satō |
| | | Toshio Kimura | June 22, 1967 | November 30, 1968 | 527 | | Eisaku Satō |
| | | Shigeru Hori | November 30, 1968 | July 5, 1971 | 947 | | Eisaku Satō |
| | | Noboru Takeshita | July 5, 1971 | July 7, 1972 | 368 | | Eisaku Satō |
| | | Susumu Nikaidō | July 7, 1972 | November 11, 1974 | 857 | | Kakuei Tanaka |
| | | Noboru Takeshita | November 11, 1974 | December 9, 1974 | 28 | | Kakuei Tanaka |
| | | Ichitarō Ide | December 9, 1974 | December 24, 1976 | 746 | | Takeo Miki |
| | | Sunao Sonoda | December 24, 1976 | November 28, 1977 | 339 | | Takeo Fukuda |
| | | Shintaro Abe | November 28, 1977 | December 7, 1978 | 374 | | Takeo Fukuda |
| | | Rokusuke Tanaka | December 7, 1978 | November 9, 1979 | 337 | | Masayoshi Ōhira |
| | | Masayoshi Ito | November 9, 1979 | July 17, 1980 | 251 | | Masayoshi Ōhira |
| | | Masayoshi Ito | November 9, 1979 | July 17, 1980 | 251 | | Himself (Acting) |
| | | Kiichi Miyazawa | July 17, 1980 | November 27, 1982 | 863 | | Zenkō Suzuki |
| | | Masaharu Gotōda | November 27, 1982 | December 27, 1983 | 395 | | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| | | Takao Fujinami | December 27, 1983 | December 28, 1985 | 732 | | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| | | Masaharu Gotōda | December 28, 1985 | November 6, 1987 | 678 | | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| | | Keizō Obuchi | November 6, 1987 | January 7, 1989 | 428 | | Noboru Takeshita |

### Heisei era

Liberal Democratic  Japan New Party  New Party Sakigake  Japan Renewal Party  Socialist  Democratic
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| Portrait | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Days | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | | Keizō Obuchi | January 8, 1989 | June 3, 1989 | 147 | | Noboru Takeshita |
| | | Masajuro Shiokawa | June 3, 1989 | August 10, 1989 | 68 | | Sōsuke Uno |
| | | Tokuo Yamashita | August 10, 1989 | August 26, 1989 | 16 | | Toshiki Kaifu |
| | | Mayumi Moriyama | August 26, 1989 | February 28, 1990 | 186 | | Toshiki Kaifu |
| | | Misoji Sakamoto [ja] | February 28, 1990 | November 5, 1991 | 615 | | Toshiki Kaifu |
| | | Koichi Kato | November 5, 1991 | December 12, 1992 | 403 | | Kiichi Miyazawa |
| | | Yōhei Kōno | December 12, 1992 | August 9, 1993 | 240 | | Kiichi Miyazawa |
| | | Masayoshi Takemura | August 9, 1993 | April 28, 1994 | 262 | | Morihiro Hosokawa |
| | | Hiroshi Kumagai [ja] | April 28, 1994 | June 30, 1994 | 63 | | Tsutomu Hata |
| | | Kozo Igarashi | June 30, 1994 | August 8, 1995 | 404 | | Tomiichi Murayama |
| | | Koken Nosaka | August 8, 1995 | January 11, 1996 | 156 | | Tomiichi Murayama |
| | | Seiroku Kajiyama | January 11, 1996 | September 11, 1997 | 609 | | Ryutaro Hashimoto |
| | | Kanezo Muraoka [ja] | September 11, 1997 | July 30, 1998 | 322 | | Ryutaro Hashimoto |
| | | Hiromu Nonaka | July 30, 1998 | October 10, 1999 | 432 | | Keizo Obuchi |
| | | Mikio Aoki | October 10, 1999 | July 4, 2000 | 273 | | Keizo Obuchi |
| | | Mikio Aoki | October 10, 1999 | July 4, 2000 | 273 | | Yoshiro Mori |
| | | Hidenao Nakagawa | July 4, 2000 | October 27, 2000 | 115 | | Yoshiro Mori |
| | | Yasuo Fukuda | October 27, 2000 | May 7, 2004 | 1380 | | Yoshiro Mori |
| | | Yasuo Fukuda | October 27, 2000 | May 7, 2004 | 1380 | | Junichiro Koizumi |
| | | Hiroyuki Hosoda | May 7, 2004 | October 31, 2005 | 450 | | Junichiro Koizumi |
| | | Shinzo Abe | October 31, 2005 | September 26, 2006 | 330 | | Junichiro Koizumi |
| | | Yasuhisa Shiozaki | September 26, 2006 | August 27, 2007 | 335 | | Shinzo Abe |
| | | Kaoru Yosano | August 27, 2007 | September 26, 2007 | 30 | | Shinzo Abe |
| | | Nobutaka Machimura | September 26, 2007 | September 24, 2008 | 364 | | Yasuo Fukuda |
| | | Takeo Kawamura | September 24, 2008 | September 16, 2009 | 357 | | Taro Aso |
| | | Hirofumi Hirano | September 16, 2009 | June 8, 2010 | 265 | | Yukio Hatoyama |
| | | Yoshito Sengoku | June 8, 2010 | January 4, 2011 | 210 | | Naoto Kan |
| | | Yukio Edano | January 4, 2011 | September 2, 2011 | 241 | | Naoto Kan |
| | | Osamu Fujimura | September 2, 2011 | December 26, 2012 | 481 | | Yoshihiko Noda |
| | | Yoshihide Suga | December 26, 2012 | April 30, 2019 | 2316 | | Shinzo Abe |

### Reiwa era

Liberal Democratic
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Chief Cabinet Secretary | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| Portrait | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Days | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | | Yoshihide Suga | May 1, 2019 | September 16, 2020 | 504 | | Shinzo Abe |
| | | Katsunobu Katō | September 16, 2020 | October 4, 2021 | 383 | | Yoshihide Suga |
| | | Hirokazu Matsuno | October 4, 2021 | December 14, 2023 | 801 | | Fumio Kishida |
| | | Yoshimasa Hayashi | December 14, 2023 | October 1, 2024 | 292 | | Fumio Kishida |
| | | Yoshimasa Hayashi | October 1, 2024 | Incumbent | 84 | | Shigeru Ishiba |