35°40′35.5″N 139°44′40.5″E / 35.676528°N 139.744583°E / 35.676528; 139.744583
67-475: Yasuo Fukuda ( 福田 康夫 , Fukuda Yasuo , born 16 July 1936) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi . His record was surpassed by Yoshihide Suga , who served almost twice as long. Following
134-400: A motion of confidence was passed by the lower house's ruling coalition to counter the censure. On 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation, citing reasons related to improving the flow of the political process. The sudden announcement began with a call for an emergency press conference issued at 6:00 pm, The purpose not disclosed until 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of
201-545: A non-binding censure motion was passed by parliament's opposition-controlled upper house against Yasuo Fukuda. Filed by the Democratic Party of Japan and two other parties, it was the first censure motion against a prime minister under Japan's post-war constitution. Ahead of the G8 summit , it attacked his handling of domestic issues including an unpopular medical plan and called for a snap election or his resignation. On 12 June,
268-449: A Chinese-inspired legal system known as ritsuryō was enacted in the late Asuka period and early Nara period . It described a government based on an elaborate and rational meritocratic bureaucracy, serving, in theory, under the ultimate authority of the emperor ; although in practice, real power was often held elsewhere, such as in the hands of the Fujiwara clan , who intermarried with
335-441: A long time to implement any policies. For the sake of the Japanese people, this should not be repeated. If we are to prioritize the people's livelihoods, there cannot be a political vacuum from political bargaining, or a lapse in policies. We need a new team to carry out policies. Taro Aso was elected to succeed Fukuda as LDP President on 22 September. Fukuda and his cabinet resigned en masse on 24 September 2008, to make way for
402-574: A majority, in the House of Representatives; although the House of Councillors (the upper house), led by the opposition Democratic Party , elected Ichirō Ozawa over Fukuda by a margin of 133 to 106. This deadlock was then resolved in favor of the lower house's choice, according to Article 67 of the Constitution . Fukuda and his cabinet were formally sworn in by Emperor Akihito on 26 September. On 11 June 2008,
469-420: A new Cabinet headed by Aso. Aso was elected as prime minister by the House of Representatives on the same day. In June 2014, Fukuda visited Beijing for secret meetings with Chinese government officials. The meeting was seen as the first after nearly 18 months between a senior Japanese political leader and Chinese officials. During the meeting, Fukuda was passed the message that President Xi wanted to meet with
536-513: A parliamentary panel afterward that rape was "a criminal act and an atrocious crime." One of the major issues during Fukuda's first months in office was the status of Japan's Indian Ocean refueling mission. After the 11 September attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, the Diet passed a bill that allowed Japanese oil tankers to provide fuel for American ships involved in military operations. When Fukuda became prime minister he vowed to continue
603-637: A secular alternative to the shrine, citing constitutional concerns. Following Abe's resignation in September 2007, Fukuda announced that he would run in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election , which would also determine the prime minister, given the LDP's majority in the House of Representatives. Fukuda received a great deal of support in his bid, including that of the LDP's largest faction, led by Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura , of which Fukuda
670-430: A vote of the House of Councillors only by a two-thirds majority of members present. The House of Councillors has 248 members who each serve six-year terms, two years longer than those of the House of Representatives. Councillors must be at least 30 years old, compared with 25 years old in the House of Representatives. The House of Councillors cannot be dissolved, and terms are staggered so that only half of its membership
737-598: Is 'Prime Minister'. This English translation was informally used as the English translation of 'Grand Minister' before the introduction of the cabinet system. However, this was not the original English translation of 'Prime Minister', and a German translation, ' Minister President of the State' , was also used in the past. Before the adoption of the Meiji Constitution , Japan had in practice no written constitution . Originally,
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#1732875773098804-493: Is a member. Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga , who initially had intended to run for the leadership, also backed Fukuda. Fukuda's only competitor for the leadership, Tarō Asō , publicly acknowledged the likelihood of his own defeat a week before the election. In the election, on 23 September, Fukuda defeated Aso, receiving 330 votes against Aso's 197. Fukuda was formally elected as Japan's 91st prime minister on 25 September. He received 338 votes, almost 100 more than necessary for
871-450: Is nominated by both houses of the Diet , before the conduct of any other business. For that purpose, each conducts a ballot under the run-off system. If the two houses choose different individuals, then a joint committee of both houses is appointed to agree on a common nominee. Ultimately, however, if the two houses do not agree, the decision of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of
938-571: Is the head of government of Japan . The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces and is a sitting member of either house of the National Diet (typically the House of Representatives ). The emperor appoints as prime minister
1005-406: Is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan . The House of Representatives is the lower house . The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers . If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or the nomination of the prime minister, the House of Representatives can insist on its decision. In other decisions, the House of Representatives can override
1072-519: Is up for election every three years. Of the 121 members subject to election each time, 73 are elected from 45 districts by single non-transferable vote (SNTV) and 48 are elected from a nationwide list by proportional representation (PR) with open lists . The power of House of Councillors is very similar to the Canadian Senate or the Irish Seanad . In central issues, there is a "supremacy of
1139-451: The DPJ -led cabinets, Kan and Noda Cabinets after the 2010 upper house election ; cf. Nejire Kokkai /"twisted Diets"). Unlike most of his counterparts in constitutional monarchies, the prime minister is both de jure and de facto chief executive. In most other constitutional monarchies, the monarch is at least nominal chief executive, while being bound by convention to act on the advice of
1206-823: The Grand Order of Queen Jelena with the Sash and the Croatian Morning Star . The decoration was given to Fukuda for his efforts in promoting friendly relations between Japan and Croatia. Prime Minister of Japan Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese : 内閣総理大臣 , Hepburn : Naikaku Sōri-Daijin )
1273-530: The Hata Cabinet in 1994 and at least numerically the Second Hashimoto Cabinet of 1996 during its first year, but with an extra-cabinet cooperation (閣外協力, kakugai kyōryoku ) agreement with two parties, sufficient to ensure safe majorities for most government initiatives), and several cabinets with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without legislative majority of their own (most recently
1340-570: The Heian period and until briefly under the Meiji Constitution with the appointment of Sanjō Sanetomi in 1871. The office was replaced in 1885 with the appointment of Itō Hirobumi to the new position of Minister President of State, four years before the enactment of the Meiji Constitution, which mentions neither the Cabinet nor the position of Prime Minister explicitly. It took its current form with
1407-551: The Japanese Constitution provided that half of the councillors elected in the first House of Councillors election in 1947 would be up for re-election three years later in order to introduce staggered six-year terms. The House initially had 250 seats. Two seats were added to the House in 1970 after the agreement on the repatriation of Okinawa , increasing the House to a total of 252. Legislation aimed at addressing malapportionment that favoured less populated prefectures
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#17328757730981474-949: The Prime Minister's Trophy on behalf of the Japan Professional Sports Association and the Monodzukuri Nippon award on behalf of the Japanese Manufacturing Association. House of Councillors Opposition (92) Unaffiliated (9) Vacant (8) Naruhito [REDACTED] Fumihito [REDACTED] Shigeru Ishiba ( LDP ) Second Ishiba Cabinet ( LDP – Komeito coalition ) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Fukushiro Nukaga Kōichirō Genba [REDACTED] Masakazu Sekiguchi Hiroyuki Nagahama Saburo Tokura Kazuo Ueda The House of Councillors ( Japanese : 参議院 , Hepburn : Sangiin )
1541-556: The Waseda University " Super Free " club, according to an article in the weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun . The magazine quoted Fukuda as saying: "There are women who look like they are saying 'Do it to me'. Those who have that kind of appearance are at fault, because men are black panthers." In response, Fukuda claimed that the Shukan Bunshun had distorted his comments, stating that he had never intended to defend rape, and told
1608-488: The confidence and supply arrangement during the restored LDP single-party government ensured legislative government majorities until the opposition victory in the 1998 House of Councillors election which led to the formation of another coalition government by 1999. The legislative two-thirds override power of the House of Representatives was never used between 1950s and 2008 when the LDP-Kōmeitō coalition government had lost
1675-501: The emperor at the Tokyo Imperial Palace . Conventionally, the prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. But there have been three cabinet prime ministers from junior coalition partners ( Hitoshi Ashida : 1948, Morihiro Hosokawa : 1993 and Tomiichi Murayama : 1994), a few minority governments (most recently
1742-670: The imperial family in the Heian period , or by the ruling shōgun . Theoretically, the last ritsuryō code, the Yōrō Code enacted in 752, was still in force at the time of the Meiji Restoration . Under this system, the Daijō-daijin ( 太政大臣 , Chancellor of the Realm) was the head of the Daijō-kan (Department of State), the highest organ of Japan's pre-modern Imperial government during
1809-563: The Diet was "twisted" from 1989 to 1993, 1998–1999, 2007–2009, and most recently 2010–2013. In recent years, many constitutional revision advocates call for reforming the role of the House of Councillors ("carbon copy" of the House of Representatives or "recalcitrant naysayer") or abolishing it altogether to "prevent political paralysis", after the recently more frequent twisted Diets have seen an increase in inter-chamber friction/"political nightmare"s. Examples of high-stakes, internationally noted conflicts in recent twisted Diets: Article 102 of
1876-404: The Diet. If the House of Councillors does not make a nomination within 10 days of the House of Representatives' nomination, the House of Representatives' nomination becomes the Diet's decision. Therefore, the House of Representatives can theoretically ensure the appointment of any prime minister it wants. The nominee is then presented with his or her commission, and formally appointed to office by
1943-475: The House of Councillors can only delay a bill, but not prevent passage. Opposition control of the House of Councillors is often summarized by the term nejire Kokkai ( ja:ねじれ国会 , "twisted" or "skewed" Diet). Setting aside the immediate postwar years, when many governments were in the minority in the upper house, but the strongest force, the centrist Ryokufūkai , was not in all-out opposition to either centre-left or centre-right governments and willing to cooperate,
2010-419: The House of Councillors can still be invoked to take provisional decisions for the whole Diet. Such decisions will become invalid unless confirmed by the House of Representatives as soon as the whole Diet convenes again. The basic stipulations on the role of the House of Councillors are subject of chapter IV of the constitution . Laws and rules containing more detailed provisions on parliamentary procedures and
2077-406: The House of Councillors majority in the 2007 election, but did control a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives since 2005. After that, it has been used somewhat more frequently (see ja:衆議院の再議決 , Shūgin no saikaketsu , ~"Override decisions by the House of Representatives" for a list). If a government controls a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and is willing to use it,
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2144-412: The House of Representatives is enough for a united opposition to be able to block the passage of legislation. For certain important administrative nominations by the cabinet, the approval of both houses is required (although the laws containing this requirement could be changed by two-thirds lower house override as a "nuclear option"); and constitutional amendment proposals need two-thirds majorities in both
2211-447: The House of Representatives" ( ja:衆議院の優越 , Shūgiin no yūetsu ). In the election of the prime minister , the ratification of international treaties, and on passing the budget, a decision by the House of Representatives always overrides dissent from the House of Councillors. Only the lower house can pass votes of no-confidence against the cabinet. All other legislation requires either the approval by majorities in both houses, an agreement in
2278-526: The Japanese Canoe Federation prior to his September 2007 election as prime minister. Fukuda ran for the House of Representatives in 1990 and won a seat. He was elected deputy director of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1997 and became Chief Cabinet Secretary to Yoshirō Mori in October 2000. He resigned his position as Chief Cabinet Secretary on 7 May 2004 amid a large political scandal related to
2345-683: The Japanese Prime Minister Abe . Following this, in late July Fukuda conveyed the details of the discussion to Abe. On getting the consent from Abe, Fukuda returned to Beijing and on 28 July informed Xi about the consent from Abe, and thus laid the groundwork for the Japan-China summit that was held in November 2014. In 2018, Fukuda met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during the 4th round of dialogue between entrepreneurs and former senior officials of China and Japan In July 2019, Fukuda addressed
2412-564: The Japanese government maintains two Boeing 777 , which replaced the Boeing 747-400 also in 2019. The aircraft is also used by the emperor , the members of the imperial family, and other high-ranking officials. They have the radio callsigns Japanese Air Force One and Japanese Air Force Two when operating on official business, and Cygnus One and Cygnus Two when operating outside of official business (e.g., on training flights). The aircraft always fly together on government missions, with one serving as
2479-427: The Japanese pension system. Fukuda was considered a contender for the leadership of the LDP in 2006, but, on 21 July, he decided that he would not seek the nomination. Instead, Shinzō Abe succeeded Junichirō Koizumi as leader of the LDP and Prime Minister of Japan . One of his most noted policy goals is to end prime ministerial visits to Yasukuni Shrine . In June 2006, Fukuda joined 134 other lawmakers in proposing
2546-652: The LDP negotiated and passed the peace-keeping operations bill with centre-left/right-of-JSP opposition parties ( DSP and Kōmeitō ) against fierce opposition from JSP and JCP ; the PKO law became the base for the Self-Defense Forces' first (ground) deployment abroad as part of the UN mission in Cambodia . After the 1993 House of Representatives election, with the exception of a brief minority government in 1994, coalition governments or
2613-468: The LDP. Tarō Asō was viewed as the likely front-runner to replace Fukuda, and was elected a week later. His popularity was hit by a controversial medical plan for elderly people, falling below 30% at one stage. He said: Today, I have decided to resign. We need a new line-up to cope with a new session of parliament. My decision is based on what I thought the future political situation ought to be. The Democratic Party has tried to stall every bill so it has taken
2680-637: The United States and China, but also the entire world,” he said. After retiring in 2012, he is now the President of the Japan-Indonesia Association. When Fukuda was Chief Cabinet Secretary to former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi he was reported to have made highly controversial comments during an off-the-record discussion with reporters in June 2003 regarding the victims of rape by male members of
2747-500: The adoption of the Constitution of Japan in 1947. To date, sixty-five men have served this position. The longest-serving prime minister to date is Shinzo Abe , who served in non-consecutive two terms for 8 years, 267 days: from 26 September 2006 until 26 September 2007, and from 26 December 2012 until 16 September 2020. The shortest-serving prime minister to date is Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni , who served for fifty-four days: from 17 August until 9 October 1945. The prime minister
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2814-636: The bounds of cabinet collective responsibility , the Japanese Cabinet is effectively an extension of the prime minister's authority. Located near the Diet building, the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan is called the Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei ( 内閣総理大臣官邸 ) . The original Kantei served from 1929 until 2002, when a new building was inaugurated to serve as the current Kantei. The old Kantei
2881-465: The cabinet. In contrast, the Constitution of Japan explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the prime minister is the leader; this greatly enhances the prime minister's position compared to prime ministers in other parliamentary democracies. His countersignature is required for all laws and Cabinet orders. While most ministers in parliamentary democracies have some freedom of action within
2948-449: The conference committee of both houses or an additional override vote by two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. However, no single party has ever won a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives under the current constitution, although the LDP came close several times, as did the DPJ in 2009. In other words, controlling a majority in the House of Councillors and one third of
3015-637: The first of the G8 leaders to leave office. Fukuda was born in Takasaki, Gunma , the eldest son of politician (later the 67th Prime Minister) Takeo Fukuda . He grew up in Setagaya, Tokyo , attending Azabu High School and graduating from Waseda University in 1959 with a degree in economics. After university, he joined Maruzen Petroleum (now part of the Cosmo Oil Company ). He was only minimally involved in politics over
3082-431: The first of whom was Itō Hirobumi taking office on 22 December 1885. The longest-serving prime minister was Shinzo Abe , who served over eight years, and the shortest-serving was Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni , who served fifty-four days. The current prime minister is Shigeru Ishiba , who succeeded Fumio Kishida on 1 October 2024, following the 2024 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election . In Japanese, due to
3149-625: The houses of the Diet to be submitted to the people in a national referendum . One additional constitutional role of the House of Councillors is to serve as functioning fully elected emergency legislature on its own during lower house election campaigns: While the House of Representatives is dissolved, the National Diet can't be convened, and therefore no law can be passed in regular procedure; but in urgent cases requiring parliamentary action (e.g. election management, provisional budgets, disaster response), an emergency session (緊急集会, kinkyū shūkai ) of
3216-404: The mission, this despite the fact that the DPJ which opposed the authorization bill now had a majority in the upper house. After several months of debate and aborted attempts at compromise the upper house rejected the bill to continue the mission. However, the bill ultimately became law as Fukuda used the LDP's 2/3 majority in the lower house to win successful passage for the bill. Fukuda's cabinet
3283-466: The next seventeen years, working his way up to section chief as a typical Japanese " salaryman ". He was posted to the United States from 1962-64. While his father Takeo Fukuda was prime minister from 1976–78, Yasuo became a political secretary. From 1978 to 1989, he was a director of the Kinzai Institute for Financial Affairs , serving as a trustee from 1986 onward. Fukuda also served as president of
3350-427: The opposition, or avoided to submit bills with no prospects of passage, so the House of Councillors rarely voted against the decisions reached by the lower house for much of postwar history: As the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), founded in 1955, often held majorities in both houses or was sufficiently close to control both houses together with independents and micro-parties for a long period, inter-chamber disagreement
3417-499: The part of the prime minister (for example, Kiichi Miyazawa ). The Prime Minister also awards individuals in recognition of their accomplishments in sport, entertainment, and other fields. Some of the awards and commendations offered include the Prime Minister's Award, created by Eisaku Satō in 1966, and the People's Honour Award , created by Takeo Fukuda in 1977. Additionally, the PM also presents
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#17328757730983484-582: The person who is nominated by the National Diet (the parliament). The prime minister must retain the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office. The prime minister lives and works at the Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence) in Nagatachō , Chiyoda , Tokyo , close to the National Diet Building . Sixty-five men have served as prime minister,
3551-428: The press conference. The resignation was widely compared to the sudden resignation of Abe a year earlier. Fukuda said that while Abe's resignation was for health reasons, his own resignation was motivated by a desire to remove impediments to legislative and political process due to deadlock between his party and the opposition-controlled upper house of the Diet. The resignation led to another leadership election within
3618-427: The primary transport and the other serving as a backup with maintenance personnel on board. The aircraft are officially referred to as Japanese government exclusive aircraft ( 日本国政府専用機 , Nippon-koku seifu sen'yōki ) . Until the mid-1930s, the prime minister of Japan was normally granted a hereditary peerage ( kazoku ) prior to leaving office if he had not already been ennobled. Titles were usually bestowed in
3685-418: The ranks of count , viscount or baron , depending on the relative accomplishments and status of the prime minister. The two highest ranks, marquess and prince , were only bestowed upon highly distinguished statesmen, and were not granted to a prime minister after 1928. The last prime minister who was a peer was Baron Kijūrō Shidehara , who served as Prime Minister from October 1945 to May 1946. The peerage
3752-486: The relations between the two houses include the National Diet Law (国会法, Kokkai-hō ), the conference committee regulations (両院協議会規程, ryōin-kyōgikai kitei ), and the rules of each house (衆議院/参議院規則, Shūgiin/Sangiin kisoku ). In practice, governments often tried to ensure legislative majorities, either by forming coalition governments with safe legislative majorities in the first place or by negotiating with part of
3819-622: The resignation of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe , Fukuda was elected as President of the Liberal Democratic Party and became prime minister in September 2007. Fukuda was the first son of a former Japanese Prime Minister ( Takeo Fukuda ) to also take up the post. On 1 September 2008, Fukuda announced his resignation as party leader, and was succeeded by Taro Aso . Although Japan hosted the G8 summit meeting without mishap during Fukuda's time in office, he himself earned little or no credit from ordinary Japanese, and when he resigned, he became
3886-760: The senior second rank posthumously. Certain distinguished prime ministers have been posthumously raised to the first rank; the last such award was to Eisaku Sato in 1975. Since the 1920s, following their tenure in office, Prime ministers have typically been conferred with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (until 2003 a special higher class of the Order of the Rising Sun), depending on tenure and eminence. However, honours may be withheld due to misconduct or refusal on
3953-506: The special nature of the work of the head of government, the prime minister's titles vary depending on context, sometimes demonstrating his/her role. Since the inception of the cabinet system , the prime minister is known in Japanese as Naikaku Sōri-Daijin (内閣総理大臣) whenever he is referred to as the head of the Cabinet. However, this title is usually abbreviated to Sōri-Daijin (総理大臣). Other abbreviations include Sōri (総理), Shushō (首相) or even Saishō (宰相). The official English rendering
4020-530: The two-day Sino-US trade relations forum in Hong Kong, attended by high-level attendees included former Chinese vice-premier Zeng Peiyan and other previous government heads and officials, as well as entrepreneurs and scholars from around the world. Fukuda urged China to seriously consider what role it wanted to play on the world stage, describing it as “the most serious issue of the era that we are faced with”...“Each step China takes not only affects relations between
4087-573: Was abolished when the Constitution of Japan came into effect in May 1947. Certain eminent prime ministers have been awarded the Order of the Chrysanthemum , typically in the degree of Grand Cordon. The highest honour in the Japanese honours system, the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, has only been conferred upon select prime ministers and eminent statesmen; the last such award to a living prime minister
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#17328757730984154-485: Was formed on 26 September 2007. It was almost identical to Abe's. After his administration started, the Cabinet's approval rating continually declined. According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, in late April 2008 the disapproval rating of the Cabinet was 60 percent and the approval rating at 25 percent. Fukuda reshuffled his cabinet on 1 August 2008. In March 2008, Croatian president Stjepan Mesić presented Fukuda with
4221-451: Was introduced in 2000; this resulted in ten seats being removed (five each at the 2001 and 2004 elections), bringing the total number of seats to 242. Further reforms to address malapportionment took effect in 2007 and 2016, but did not change the total number of members in the house. From 1947 to 1983, the House had 100 seats allocated to a national block ( 全国区 , zenkoku-ku ) , of which fifty seats were allocated in each election. It
4288-480: Was originally intended to give nationally prominent figures a route to the House without going through local electioneering processes. Some national political figures, such as feminists Shidzue Katō and Fusae Ichikawa and former Imperial Army general Kazushige Ugaki , were elected through the block, along with a number of celebrities such as comedian Yukio Aoshima (later Governor of Tokyo), journalist Hideo Den and actress Yūko Mochizuki . Shintaro Ishihara won
4355-444: Was rare during most of the 1955 System . After the opposition victory in the 1989 election, the relative importance of the House of Councillors initially increased, as the LDP continued to govern alone and did not hold a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. Crucial legislation had to be negotiated with parts of the opposition. The most prominent example was the so-called "PKO Diet" ( ja:PKO国会 , PKO Kokkai ) of 1992 when
4422-513: Was then converted into the Official Residence, or Kōtei ( 公邸 ) . The Kōtei lies to the southwest of the Kantei, and is linked by a walkway. The prime minister of Japan travels in a Toyota Century . The Lexus LS 600h L , which served as the prime minister's official car from 2008 to 2019, became a spare/alternative vehicle used by the Prime Minister till present. For overseas air travel,
4489-450: Was to Saionji Kinmochi in 1928. More often, the Order of the Chrysanthemum has been a posthumous distinction; both the Collar and Grand Cordon of the order were last awarded posthumously to former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. After relinquishing office, the prime minister is normally accorded the second or senior third rank in the court order of precedence, and is usually raised to
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