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The Ministry of Finance (財務省; Zaimu-sho) is one of ministries of the Japanese government. The Ministry was once named Okura-sho (大蔵省). The top of the Ministry is the Minister of Finance (Zaimu-daijin; 財務大臣), who is a member of the Cabinet and is typically chosen from members of the Diet by the Prime Minister.The Ministry's origin was back in the 6th century, when Okura (大蔵) was established as a state treasury in ancient Japan. When a modern system of government was introduced after the Meiji Restoration, the Ministry of Finance (大蔵省; Okura-sho) was established as a government body in charge of public finance and monetary affairs.
The Ministry has long been regarded as the most powerful ministry in the Japanese government. After various financial scandals revealed in the 1990s, however, the Ministry lost its power over banking supervision to a newly-established Financial Services Agency . It also lost its control over monetary policy conducted by the Bank of Japan. In addition, it lost its ancient Japanese name in January 2001, to be renamed as Zaimu-sho (財務省), although its English name remained the same.
Despite this renaming, the Japanese people still use a slang term Okura-daijin (大蔵大臣), meaning a person controlling a budget (e.g. a housewife for a family budget).
In financial markets, the Ministry is famous for its active foreign exchange policy. Its top civil servant on the international side, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, is often quoted in the markets. Former Vice Minister Eisuke Sakakibara was known as "Mr Yen", whereas his successors Haruhiko Kuroda and Zembei Mizoguchi were often referred to as "Mr Asian Currency" and "Mr Dollar", respectively. The current Vice Minister for International Affairs (2004) is Hiroshi Watanabe .
1 List of Ministers of Finance since 1945
- Juichi Tsushima 1945
- Keizo Shibusawa 1945-1946
- Tanzan Ishibashi 1946-1947
- Shotaro Yano 1947
- Takeo Kurisu 1947-1948
- Tokutaro Kitamura 1948
- Sanroku Izumiyama 1948
- Hayato Ikeda 1949-1952, 1956-1957
- Tadaharu Mukai 1952-1953
- Sankuro Ogasawara 1953-1954
- Naoto Ichimanda 1954-1956, 1957-1958
- Eisaku Sato 1958-1960
- Mikio Mikita 1960-1962, 1966-1968, 1971
- Kakuei Tanaka 1962-1965
- Takeo Fukuda 1965-1966, 1968-1971, 1973-1974
- Kojiro Ueki 1971-1972
- Kichi Aichi 1972-1973
- Masayoshi Ohira 1974-1976
- Hideo Bo 1976-1977
- Tatsuo Murayama 1977-1978, 1988-1989
- Ippei Kaneko 1978-1979
- Noboru Takeshita 1979-1980, 1982-1986
- Michio Watanabe 1980-1982
- Kiichi MiyazawaKiichi Miyazawa ( Miyazawa Kiichi (born 1919) is a Japanese politician and was the 78th Prime Minister from November 5, 1991 to 1993. He was born in Hiroshima Prefecture and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a degree in law. In 1942, he joined 1986-1988, 1998-2001
- Ryutaro HashimotoRyutaro Hashimoto (; Hashimoto Ryutaro born July 29, 1937) is a Japanese politician and was the 82nd and 83rd Prime Minister of Japan from January 11, 1996 to July 30, 1998. He was born in Soja city, Okayama prefecture. His father, Ryogo Hashimoto, was a 1988-1991
- Tsutomu HataTsutomu Hata ( Hata Tsutomu b. August 24, 1935) is a Japanese politician and was the 80th Prime Minister of Japan for several weeks in 1994. Born in Tokyo, Hata graduated from Seijo University and was employed by the Odakyu bus company from 1958 to 1969. 1991-1992
- Yoshiro Hayashi 1992-1993
- Hirohisa Fujii 1993-1994
- Masayoshi Takemura 1994-1996
- Wataru Kubo 1996
- Hiroshi Mitsuzuka 1996-1998
- Hikaru Matsunaga 1998
- Masajuro Shiokawa 2001-2003
- Sadakazu Tanigaki 2003-
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