Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs (外務大臣, Gaimu Daijin) of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Since the end of the allied occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on external relations. The recent efforts of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to establish a more interventionistforeign policy have also heightened the importance of the position.

The position is currently held by Toshimitsu Motegi.

 List of ministers for foreign affairs
Italics indicates subject served as Acting Foreign Minister.
Bold indicates subject served concurrently as Prime Minister for a period of time.

 Empire of Japan (1885–1945) 
 #  Portrait  Name  Took office  Left office 1  90px  Count Inoue Kaoru  December 1885  September 1887 –  90px  Count Itō Hirobumi  September 1887  February 1888 2  90px  Count Ōkuma Shigenobu  (1st)  February 1888  December 1889 3  90px  Viscount Aoki Shūzō  (1st)  December 1889  May 1891 4  90px  Viscount Enomoto Takeaki  May 1891  August 1892 5  90px  Viscount Mutsu Munemitsu  August 1892  May 1896 6  90px  Marquis Saionji Kinmochi  (1st)  May 1896  September 1896 2  90px  Count Ōkuma Shigenobu  (2nd)  September 1896  November 1897 7  90px  Baron Nishi Tokujirō  November 1897  January 1898 2  90px  Count Ōkuma Shigenobu  (3rd)  January 1898  June 1898 3  90px  Viscount Aoki Shūzō  (2nd)  June 1898  October 1900 8  90px  Katō Takaaki  (1st)  October 1900  June 1901 9  90px  Sone Arasuke  June 1901  September 1901 10  90px  Baron Komura Jutarō  (1st)  September 1901  January 1906 8  90px  Katō Takaaki  (2nd)  January 1906  March 1906 6  90px Marquis Saionji Kinmochi  (2nd)  March 1906  May 1906 11  90px  Count Hayashi Tadasu  May 1906  July 1908 12  90px  General Viscount Terauchi Masatake  (1st)  July 1908  August 1908 10  90px  Marquis Komura Jutarō  (2nd)  August 1908  August 1911 13  90px  Viscount Uchida Kosai  (1st)   August 1911  December 1912 14  90px  Prince Katsura Tarō  December 1912  January 1913 8  90px  Baron Katō Takaaki  (3rd)  January 1913  February 1913 15  90px  Baron Makino Nobuaki  February 1913  April 1914 8  90px  Baron Katō Takaaki  (4th)  April 1914  August 1915 2  90px  Count Ōkuma Shigenobu  (4th)  August 1915  October 1915 16  90px  Viscount Ishii Kikujirō   October 1915  October 1916 12  90px  Marshal Count Terauchi Masatake  (2nd)  October 1916  November 1916 17  90px  Viscount Motono Ichirō  November 1916  April 1918 18  90px  Baron Gotō Shinpei  April 1918  September 1918 13  90px  Count Uchida Kosai  (2nd)  September 1918  2 September 1923 19  90px  Admiral Count Yamamoto Gonnohyōe  2 September 1923  19 September 1923 20  90px  Baron Ijuin Hikokichi  September 1923  January 1924 21  90px  Baron Matsui Keishirō  January 1924  June 1924 22  90px  Baron Kijūrō Shidehara  (1st)  June 1924  April 1927 23  90px  Baron Tanaka Giichi  April 1927  July 1929 22  90px  Baron Kijūrō Shidehara  (2nd)  July 1929  December 1931 24  90px  Inukai Tsuyoshi  December 1931  January 1932 25  90px  Kenkichi Yoshizawa  January 1932  May 1932 26  90px  Admiral Viscount Saitō Makoto   May 1932  July 1932 13  90px  Count Uchida Kosai  (3rd)   July 1932  September 1933 27  90px  Kōki Hirota  (1st)  September 1933  April 1936 28  90px  Hachirō Arita  (1st)  April 1936  February 1937 29  90px  Senjuro Hayashi  February 1937  March 1937 30  90px  Naotake Satō  March 1937  June 1937 27  90px  Kōki Hirota  (2nd)  June 1937  May 1938 31  90px  General Kazushige Ugaki  May 1938  September 1938 32  90px  Prince Fumimaro Konoe  September 1938  October 1938 28  90px  Hachirō Arita  (2nd)  October 1938  January 1939 33  90px  General Nobuyuki Abe  January 1939  August 1939 34  90px  Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura  August 1939  January 1940 28  90px  Hachirō Arita  (3rd)  January  1940  July 1940 35  90px  Yōsuke Matsuoka  July 1940  July 1941 36  90px  Admiral Teijirō Toyoda  July 1941  October 1941 37  90px  Shigenori Tōgō  (1st)  October 1941  September 1942 38  90px  General Hideki Tōjō  1 September 1942  17 September 1942 39  90px  Masayuki Tani  September 1942  April 1943 40  90px  Mamoru Shigemitsu  (1st)  April 1943  April 1945 41  90px  Admiral Baron Kantarō Suzuki  April 1945  April 1945 37  90px  Shigenori Tōgō  (2nd)  April 1945  August 1945 40  90px  Mamoru Shigemitsu  (2nd)  August 1945  September 1945

 Postwar Japan (1945–present) 

Foreign MinisterTerm of officePrime Minister#PortraitNameTook officeLeft officeDays4390pxShigeru YoshidaSeptember 15, 1945May 24, 1947 Prince Naruhiko HigashikuniKijūrō ShideharaShigeru Yoshida -90pxTetsu KatayamaMay 24, 1947June 1, 1947 Tetsu Katayama4490pxHitoshi AshidaJune 1, 1947October 15, 1948 Hitoshi Ashida(43)90pxShigeru YoshidaOctober 15, 1948April 30, 1952 Shigeru Yoshida4590pxKatsuo OkazakiApril 30, 1952December 10, 1954 (40)90pxMamoru ShigemitsuDecember 10, 1954November 22, 1955 Ichirō HatoyamaNovember 22, 1955December 23, 1956 -90pxTanzan IshibashiDecember 23, 1956December 23, 1956 Tanzan Ishibashi4690pxNobusuke KishiDecember 23, 1956July 10, 1957 Nobusuke Kishi4790pxAiichirō FujiyamaJuly 10, 1957July 19, 1960 4890pxZentaro KosakaJuly 19, 1960July 18, 1962 Hayato Ikeda4990pxMasayoshi ŌhiraJuly 18, 1962July 18, 1964 5090pxShiina EtsusaburoJuly 18, 1964December 3, 1966 Eisaku Satō5190pxTakeo MikiDecember 3, 1966October 29, 1968  -90pxEisaku SatōOctober 29, 1968November 30, 1968 5290pxKiichi AichiNovember 30, 1968July 9, 1971 5390pxTakeo FukudaJuly 9, 1971July 7, 1972 (49)90pxMasayoshi ŌhiraJuly 7, 1972July 16, 1974 Kakuei Tanaka5490pxToshio KimuraJuly 16, 1974December 9, 1974 5590pxKiichi MiyazawaDecember 9, 1974September 5, 1976 Takeo Miki(48)90pxZentaro KosakaSeptember 5, 1976December 24, 1976 5690pxIichirō HatoyamaDecember 24, 1976November 28, 1977 Takeo Fukuda5790pxSunao SonodaNovember 28, 1977November 8, 1979 Masayoshi Ōhira5890pxSaburō ŌkitaNovember 8, 1979July 17, 1980 5990pxMasayoshi ItoJuly 17, 1980May 18, 1981 Zenkō Suzuki(57)90pxSunao SonodaMay 18, 1981November 30, 1981 6090pxYoshio SakurauchiNovember 30, 1981November 27, 1982 6190pxShintaro AbeNovember 27, 1982July 22, 1986 Yasuhiro Nakasone6290pxTadashi KuranariJuly 22, 1986November 6, 1987 6390pxSosuke UnoNovember 6, 1987June 3, 1989 Noboru Takeshita6490pxHiroshi MitsuzukaJune 3, 1989August 10, 1989 Sosuke Uno6590pxTaro NakayamaAugust 10, 1989November 5, 1991 Toshiki Kaifu6690pxMichio WatanabeNovember 5, 1991April 7, 1993 Kiichi Miyazawa6790pxKabun MutōApril 7, 1993August 9, 1993 6890pxTsutomu HataAugust 9, 1993April 28, 1994 Morihiro Hosokawa6990pxKoji KakizawaApril 28, 1994June 30, 1994 Tsutomu Hata7090pxYōhei KōnoJune 30, 1994January 11, 1996 Tomiichi Murayama7190pxYukihiko IkedaJanuary 11, 1996September 11, 1997 Ryutaro Hashimoto7290pxKeizo ObuchiSeptember 11, 1997July 30, 1998 7390pxMasahiko KōmuraJuly 30, 1998October 5, 1999 Keizo Obuchi(70)90pxYōhei KōnoOctober 5, 1999April 26, 2001 Yoshiro Mori7490pxMakiko TanakaApril 26, 2001January 29, 2002 Junichiro Koizumi7590pxJunichiro Koizumi
(Acting)January 29, 2002February 1, 2002 7690pxYoriko KawaguchiFebruary 1, 2002September 27, 2004 7790pxNobutaka MachimuraSeptember 27, 2004October 31, 2005 7890pxTarō AsōOctober 31, 2005August 27, 2007 Shinzō Abe(77)90pxNobutaka MachimuraAugust 27, 2007September 26, 2007 (73)90pxMasahiko KōmuraSeptember 26, 2007September 24, 2008 Yasuo Fukuda7990pxHirofumi NakasoneSeptember 24, 2008September 16, 2009 Tarō Asō8090pxKatsuya OkadaSeptember 16, 2009September 17, 2010 Yukio HatoyamaNaoto Kan8190pxSeiji MaeharaSeptember 17, 2010March 7, 2011  –90pxYukio Edano (Acting)March 7, 2011March 9, 2011 8290pxTakeaki MatsumotoMarch 9, 2011September 2, 2011 8390pxKōichirō GenbaSeptember 2, 2011December 26, 2012 Yoshihiko Noda84120x120pxFumio KishidaDecember 26, 2012August 3, 2017 Shinzō Abe8590pxTaro KonoAugust 3, 2017September 11, 2019 8690pxToshimitsu MotegiSeptember 11, 2019November 4, 2021 Yoshihide Suga(84)90pxFumio Kishida
(Acting)November 4, 2021November 10, 2021Fumio Kishida87120x120pxYoshimasa HayashiNovember 10, 2021September 13, 202388116x116pxYōko KamikawaSeptember 13, 2023October 1, 2024 89116x116pxTakeshi IwayaOctober 1, 2024October 21, 2025  Shigeru Ishiba(86)116x116pxToshimitsu MotegiOctober 21, 2025Incumbent  Sanae Takaichi

Notes

 Official website 
official website

*