Japan Prime Minister List 2026: Japan PM List from 1885 to 2026

Japan Prime Minister List 2026 is now updated with the latest names, including current Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office on 21 October 2025. She is the first woman to hold the top post in the country's history.

Prime Minister of Japan heads the executive branch and leads the Cabinet. This office was created during the Meiji Restoration in 1885. Since the 1947 constitution, the Prime Minister is chosen by the Diet (Kokkai) and formally appointed by the emperor. This page carries the full list of Japan Prime Ministers from 1885 to 2026.

Japan Prime Minister List 2026

Japan has seen a long line of Prime Ministers since Itō Hirobumi became the first one in 1885. Shinzo Abe served the longest, with eight years across two separate terms. Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni had the shortest run, staying in office for just 54 days in 1945.

After Suga Yoshihide, the country saw three more Prime Ministers in quick succession. Kishida Fumio, Ishiba Shigeru and now Sanae Takaichi have each held the post. The table below gives a quick snapshot of the current status of this list.

Detail	Information
List Name	Japan Prime Minister List
First Prime Minister	Itō Hirobumi (1885)
Current Prime Minister	Sanae Takaichi (since 21 October 2025)
First Woman Prime Minister	Sanae Takaichi
Longest Serving PM	Shinzo Abe
Official Website	japan.kantei.go.jp

Complete List of Japan Prime Ministers from 1885 to 2026

Here is the full list of Japan Prime Ministers from 1885 to 2026, in order of their terms. Names that appear more than once held the office in separate spells.

Itō Hirobumi (1885-88; 1st time)
Kuroda Kiyotaka (1888-89)
Yamagata Aritomo (1889-91; 1st time)
Matsukata Masayoshi (1891-92; 1st time)
Itō Hirobumi (1892-96; 2nd time)
Matsukata Masayoshi (1896-98; 2nd time)
Itō Hirobumi (1898; 3rd time)
Ōkuma Shigenobu (1898; 1st time)
Yamagata Aritomo (1898-1900; 2nd time)
Itō Hirobumi (1900-01; 4th time)
Katsura Taro (1901-06; 1st time)
Saionji Kimmochi (1906-08; 1st time)
Katsura Taro (1908-11; 2nd time)
Saionji Kimmochi (1911-12; 2nd time)
Katsura Taro (1912-13; 3rd time)
Yamamoto Gonnohyōe (1913-14; 1st time)
Ōkuma Shigenobu (1914-16; 2nd time)
Terauchi Masatake (1916-18)
Hara Takashi (1918-21)
Takahashi Korekiyo (1921-22)
Katō Tomosaburō (1922-23)
Yamamoto Gonnohyōe (1923-24; 2nd time)
Kiyoura Keigo (1924)
Katō Takaaki (1924-26)
Wakatsuki Reijiro (1926-27; 1st time)
Tanaka Giichi (1927-29)
Hamaguchi Osachi (1929-31)
Wakatsuki Reijiro (1931; 2nd time)
Inukai Tsuyoshi (1931-32)
Saitō Makoto (1932-34)
Okada Keisuke (1934-36)
Hirota Koki (1936-37)
Hayashi Senjūrō (1937)
Konoe Fumimaro (1937-39; 1st time)
Hiranuma Kiichiro (1939)
Abe Nobuyuki (1939-40)
Yonai Mitsumasa (1940)
Konoe Fumimaro (1940-41; 2nd time)
Konoe Fumimaro (1941; 3rd time)
Tōjō Hideki (1941-44)
Koiso Kuniaki (1944-45)
Suzuki Kantarō (1945)
Higashikuni Naruhiko (1945)
Shidehara Kijūrō (1945-46)
Yoshida Shigeru (1946-47; 1st time)
Katayama Tetsu (1947-48)
Ashida Hitoshi (1948)
Yoshida Shigeru (1948-49; 2nd time)
Yoshida Shigeru (1949-52; 3rd time)
Yoshida Shigeru (1952-53; 4th time)
Yoshida Shigeru (1953-54; 5th time)
Hatoyama Ichirō (1954-55; 1st time)
Hatoyama Ichirō (1955; 2nd time)
Hatoyama Ichirō (1955-56; 3rd time)
Ishibashi Tanzan (1956-57)
Kishi Nobusuke (1957-58; 1st time)
Kishi Nobusuke (1958-60; 2nd time)
Ikeda Hayato (1960; 1st time)
Ikeda Hayato (1960-63; 2nd time)
Ikeda Hayato (1963-64; 3rd time)
Satō Eisaku (1964-67; 1st time)
Satō Eisaku (1967-70; 2nd time)
Satō Eisaku (1970-72; 3rd time)
Tanaka Kakuei (1972; 1st time)
Tanaka Kakuei (1972-74; 2nd time)
Miki Takeo (1974-76)
Fukuda Takeo (1976-78)
Ōhira Masayoshi (1978-79; 1st time)
Ōhira Masayoshi (1979-80; 2nd time)
Suzuki Zenkō (1980-82)
Nakasone Yasuhiro (1982-84; 1st time)
Nakasone Yasuhiro (1984-87; 2nd time)
Takeshita Noboru (1987-89)
Uno Sōsuke (1989)
Kaifu Toshiki (1989-91)
Miyazawa Kiichi (1991-93)
Hosokawa Morihiro (1993-94)
Hata Tsutomu (1994)
Murayama Tomiichi (1994-96)
Hashimoto Ryūtarō (1996-98)
Obuchi Keizo (1998-2000)
Mori Yoshiro (2000-01)
Koizumi Junichiro (2001-06)
Abe Shinzo (2006-07; 1st time)
Fukuda Yasuo (2007-08)
Asō Tarō (2008-09)
Hatoyama Yukio (2009-10)
Kan Naoto (2010-11)
Noda Yoshihiko (2011-12)
Abe Shinzo (2012-20; 2nd time)
Suga Yoshihide (2020-21)
Kishida Fumio (2021-24)
Ishiba Shigeru (2024-25)
Takaichi Sanae (2025-present)

Current Prime Minister of Japan

Sanae Takaichi is the current Prime Minister of Japan. She took charge on 21 October 2025 after Shigeru Ishiba stepped down. Takaichi leads the Liberal Democratic Party and became the first woman to hold the post. She replaced Ishiba, who was in office from 1 October 2024 to 7 September 2025.

Before Ishiba, Kishida Fumio served as Prime Minister from 4 October 2021 to 1 October 2024. Suga Yoshihide held the post from 16 September 2020 to 4 October 2021.

How to Download Ministers and Senior Vice Ministers List

Cabinet Office of Japan publishes the list of ministers, senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries in PDF format. You can get the file from the official website by following the steps below.

STEP 1 - Open the official Cabinet Office page at cao.go.jp/en/pmf/aboutpmfindex.pdf in your browser.

STEP 2 - The PDF file will open directly. Use the download icon or right click and choose the save option to store it on your device.

STEP 3 - Open the saved file to see the full list of ministers, senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries of the current cabinet.

Also Read: List of Prime Ministers of India from 1947 to 2026

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Also Read: Pakistan Prime Minister List from 1947