Japanese Prime Ministers (from the 1990s)

PM and Party and Coalition	Date elected	Date removed	Reason for removal
Kaifu Toshiki, LDP	Aug 1989 (replaced Uno Sosuke who had resigned. Lower House elections in Feb. 1990 kept LDP in majority and Kaifu was reelected PM by Lower House	October 1991	LDP removed him, scandals and factionalism
Miyazawa Kiichi, LDP	October 1991	July 1993	Lost no confidence motion in June 1993
Hosokawa Morihiro, Japan New Party, part of seven party Not-LDP coalition	July 1993	April 1994	Resigned, campaign finance scandal from when he was in the LDP
Hata Tsutomu, Japan Renewal Party, part of the Not-LDP coalition	April 1994	June 1994	SDPJ pulled out of Not-LDP coalition; he resigned after LDP submitted a motion for a no confidence vote; a new PM was elected by the Diet
Murayama Tomiichi, SDPJ, part of an LDP, SDPJ, Sakigake coalition	June 1994	January 1996	Resigned due to age and growing frustration with coalition
Hashimoto Ryutaro, LDP, part of an LDP, SDPJ, Sakigake coalition	January 1996, Lower House elections in October 1996 maintain LDP in power and Hashimoto is reelected PM by Lower House	August 1998	LDP fails to win new seats in Upper House election in July; Hashimoto takes the blame and resigns
Obuchi Keizo, LDP; LDP rules alone until 1999. Adds Liberal Party (Jan. 1999) and New Komeito (Sept. 1999) to form a coalition	August 1998	April 2000	Suffers severe stroke and passes away
Mori Yoshiro, LDP, as part of an LDP, New Conservative Party, New Komeito coalition	April 2000, Lower House elections in June 2000 maintain LDP in power and Mori is reelected PM by Lower House	April 2001	Approval rating is terrible, hovering around 10%
Koizumi Junichiro, LDP, as part of above coalition	April 2001, in a very contentious election for LDP President, rules changes allow local Prefecture party chapters to tip balance of power away from Tokyo-based party leaders	Retired Fall 2006	Elections held November 2003; retained PM post. Retained post in September 2005 elections
Abe Shinzo, LDP, in coalition with New Komeito	Succeeded Koizumi when Koizumi retired from PM job, Fall 2006	Fall 2007	LDP lost control of the House of Councillors in the summer 2007 elections and Abe took the blame
Fukuda Yasuo, LDP, in coalition with New Komeito	Took over from Abe as LDP sought a strong PM, Fall 2007	Fall 2008	Popularity of Fukuda and LDP continues to fade, so he resigns once the LDP finds a replacement
Aso Taro, LDP	Took over from Fukuda as once again LDP searches for a strong PM, Fall 2008	Calls elections for August 30, 2009; LDP loses	Aso’s popularity dives and the DPJ moves ahead of the LDP in the eyes of the voters. Required to call an election by September 2009 and does so one month early.
Hatoyama Yukio, DPJ	September 2009 following landslide electoral victory for DPJ DPJ LDP Pre-2009 110 303 Post-2009 308 119	June 2010	Resigned from office after reversing his electoral pledge to relocate US military bases currently in Okinawa and in anticipation of July 2009 Upper House elections (where his leadership might be seen as a liability for the DPJ)
Kan Naoto, DPJ	Elected by House of Representatives upon the resignation of Hatoyama, June 2010	August 26, 2011	Resigned following the tsunami and earthquake. With already terrible approval ratings, Kan was accused of mismanaging the response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Noda Yoshihiko, DPJ	Elected by the House of Representatives following Kan’s resignation, August 2011	December 2012	Approval ratings plummet so badly, he dissolves the Diet, November 2012
Abe Shinzo, LDP	December 2012 elections are a landslide win for LDP. Abe becomes PM: DPJ LDP Pre-2009 110 303 Post-2009 308 119 Dec. 2012 56 294 Re-elected Sept. 2014 Re-elected Sept. 2017	Retires August 2020 due to health issues; leaves office in September 2020	Retires as the longest serving Prime Minister in Japanese history – about eight years.
Suga Yoshihide	Takes over for Abe	Stepped down October 4 2021	Due to low approval ratings, Suga decides not to run for a new term as LDP President; resigns as Prime Minister. House of Representatives terms end September 2021 and Suga decides his candidacy will hurt the LDP
Kishida Fumio	Elected as LDP President September 2021; then elected Prime Minister when Suga resigns. Immediately calls for elections as House of Representatives terms are expiring. LDP maintains majority in House October 31 election. Re-elected Prime Minister in November 2021	Still in office