List of prime ministers of Japan

The west facade of the Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (valley side), the office of the prime minister
  • Itō Hirobumi (top left) is considered the first prime minister of Japan.
  • Hideki Tojo (top right) was prime minister during much of World War II.
  • Shinzo Abe (bottom left) was the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history.
  • Sanae Takaichi (bottom right) is the first female and incumbent prime minister of Japan.

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 premiership 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 incumbent and first female prime minister is Sanae Takaichi, who assumed the office on 21 October 2025.

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