Minister of Defense (Japan)

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Minister of Defense
防衛大臣
Standard of the Minister of Defense
Incumbent Minoru Kihara since 13 September 2023 (2023-09-13)
Ministry of Defense
Style	His Excellency
Member of	Cabinet National Security Council Defense Council
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The Prime Minister subject to formal attestation by the Emperor
Precursor	Director General of the Defense Agency
Formation	9 January 2007; 17 years ago (2007-01-09)
First holder	Fumio Kyuma
Deputy	State Minister of Defense
Salary	¥20,916,000

The Minister of Defense (防衛大臣, Bōei Daijin), or Bōei-shō (防衛相), is a member of the Japanese cabinet and is the leader of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the executive department of the Japanese Armed Forces. The minister of defense’s position of command and authority over the military is second only to that of the Prime Minister of Japan, who is the commander-in-chief.

The minister of defense is appointed by the Prime Minister and is a member of the National Security Council. The current Minister of Defense is Minoru Kihara, who took office on September 13, 2023.