List of prime ministers of Japan

The west façade of the Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (valley side), the official residence of the prime minister

The east façade of the Kantei

The prime minister of Japan is the country's head of government and the leader of the Cabinet. This is a list of prime ministers of Japan, from when the first Japanese prime minister (in the modern sense), Itō Hirobumi, took office in 1885, until the present day.

32 prime ministers under the Meiji Constitution had a mandate from the Emperor. The "electoral mandates" shown are for the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Imperial Diet, which was not constitutionally guaranteed to have any influence on the appointment of the prime minister.

The prime minister under the Constitution of Japan is designated from among the members of the National Diet, and appointed by the Emperor after being nominated by the National Diet.

The prime ministership of Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, who was prime minister for fifty-four days in 1945, was the shortest in Japanese history. Shinzo Abe served the longest, with eight years over two non-consecutive periods.

The current prime minister is Fumio Kishida, who assumed office on 4 October 2021.^[1] There are currently ten living former prime ministers. The most recent former prime minister to die, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated on 8 July 2022.^[2]