| Post: | President of the House of Councillors |
| Native Name: | 参議院議長 |
| Flagsize: | 150px |
| Insignia: | File:Go-shichi no kiri crest 2.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 150px |
| Insigniacaption: | Emblem of the Government of Japan |
| Incumbent: | Hidehisa Otsuji |
| Incumbentsince: | 3 August 2022 |
| Department: | House of Councillors |
| Style: | Mr. President (informal) The Honourable (formal) |
| Residence: | The President's Official Residence (not in use) |
| Appointer: | House of Councillors |
| Termlength: | Three years; renewable once |
| Constituting Instrument: | Constitution of Japan |
| First: | Tsuneo Matsudaira |
| Deputy: | Vice President of the House of Councillors |
The is the presiding officer of the House of Councillors of Japan, and together with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President is also the head of the legislative branch of Japan.[1] The President is elected by members of the House at the start of each session, and can serve two three-year terms, for a maximum of six years.
The current President of the House of Councillors is Hidehisa Otsuji, who took office on 3 August 2022.[2]
The election of the President takes place on the day of the new session, under the moderation of the Secretary-General of the House.[3] The President is elected by an anonymous vote, and must have at least half of the votes in order to take office. If no one gets over half of the votes, the top two candidates will be voted again, and if they get the same number of votes, the President is elected by a lottery. The Vice President is elected separately, in the same way.[3]
Usually, the President is a senior member of the ruling party, and the Vice President is a senior member of the opposition party. The current President, Hidehisa Otsuji, is a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, while the Vice President, Hiroyuki Nagahama, is a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.
According to Chapter III Article 19 of the Diet Law, the President "shall maintain order in the House, arrange its business, supervise its administration, and represent the House".[3]
The President is also authorized to maintain order in the House chambers by exercising police power. Upon the President's request, police personnel are sent by the National Police Agency, and are placed under the President's direction.[3] The President may then order arrest or removal of a member of the House or a visitor.
According to Chapter XIV Chapter 116 of the Diet law, when a member of the House of Councillors acts in a disorderly manner, the President can warn them or make them withdraw their statements. If the member does not obey these orders, the President can forbid the member to speak or make the member leave the chamber until the end of the proceedings. If the chamber goes out of control and becomes over chaotic, the President may also temporarily suspend or adjourn the sitting for the day.[3]
| President | Political party | Term start | Term end | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsuneo Matsudaira | Ryokufūkai | May 20, 1947 | November 14, 1949 | |||
| Naotake Satō | Ryokufūkai | November 15, 1949 | May 19, 1953 | |||
| Yahachi Kawai | Ryokufūkai | May 19, 1953 | April 3, 1956 | |||
| Tsuruhei Matsuno | Ryokufūkai | April 3, 1956 | August 6, 1962 | |||
| Yūzō Shigemune | Liberal Democratic | August 6, 1962 | July 17, 1971 | |||
| Kenzō Kōno | Liberal Democratic | July 17, 1971 | July 3, 1977 | |||
| Ken Yasui | Liberal Democratic | July 28, 1977 | July 7, 1980 | |||
| Masatoshi Tokunaga | Liberal Democratic | July 17, 1980 | July 9, 1983 | |||
| Mutsuo Kimura | Liberal Democratic | July 18, 1983 | July 22, 1986 | |||
| Masaaki Fujita | Liberal Democratic | July 22, 1986 | September 30, 1988 | |||
| Yoshihiko Tsuchiya | Liberal Democratic | September 30, 1988 | October 4, 1991 | |||
| Yūji Osada | Liberal Democratic | October 4, 1991 | July 9, 1992 | |||
| Bunbē Hara | Liberal Democratic | August 7, 1992 | July 22, 1995 | |||
| Jūrō Saitō | Liberal Democratic | August 4, 1995 | October 19, 2000 | |||
| Yutaka Inoue | Liberal Democratic | October 19, 2000 | April 22, 2002 | |||
| Hiroyuki Kurata | Liberal Democratic | April 22, 2002 | July 30, 2004 | |||
| Chikage Oogi | Liberal Democratic | July 30, 2004 | July 28, 2007 | |||
| Satsuki Eda | Democratic | July 28, 2007 | July 25, 2010 | |||
| Takeo Nishioka | Democratic | July 30, 2010 | November 5, 2011 | |||
| Kenji Hirata | Democratic | November 14, 2011 | July 28, 2013 | |||
| Masaaki Yamazaki | Liberal Democratic | August 2, 2013 | July 25, 2016 | |||
| Chūichi Date | Liberal Democratic | August 1, 2016 | July 28, 2019 | |||
| Akiko Santō | Liberal Democratic | August 1, 2019 | August 3, 2022 | |||
| Hidehisa Otsuji | Liberal Democratic | August 3, 2022 | Incumbent | |||
| Vice president | Political party | Term start | Term end | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jiichirō Matsumoto | Socialist | May 20, 1947 | February 24, 1949 | |||
| Kisaku Matsushima | Democratic Liberal | March 26, 1949 | May 2, 1950 | |||
| Jirō Miki | Socialist | July 12, 1950 | May 2, 1953 | |||
| Yūzō Shigemune | Liberal | May 19, 1953 | May 9, 1956 | |||
| Yutaka Terao | Liberal Democratic | May 9, 1956 | June 12, 1958 | |||
| Tarō Hirai | Liberal Democratic | June 16, 1958 | July 7, 1962 | |||
| Yōtoku Shigemasa | Liberal Democratic | August 6, 1962 | June 1, 1965 | |||
| Kenzō Kōno | Liberal Democratic | July 30, 1965 | August 3, 1968 | |||
| Ken Yasui | Liberal Democratic | August 3, 1968 | July 17, 1971 | |||
| Yasoichi Mori | Liberal Democratic | July 17, 1971 | July 7, 1974 | |||
| Kazuo Maeda | Liberal Democratic | July 27, 1974 | July 28, 1977 | |||
| Kan Kase | Socialist | July 28, 1977 | August 30, 1979 | |||
| Chōzō Akiyama | Socialist | August 30, 1979 | July 9, 1983 | |||
| Noboru Agune | Socialist | July 18, 1983 | July 7, 1986 | |||
| Hideyuki Seya | Socialist | July 22, 1986 | August 7, 1989 | |||
| Akira Ono | Socialist | August 7, 1989 | April 19, 1990 | |||
| Ippei Koyama | Socialist | April 25, 1990 | July 7, 1992 | |||
| Misao Akagiri | Socialist | August 7, 1992 | August 4, 1995 | |||
| Kanpei Matsuo | New Frontier | August 4, 1995 | July 25, 1998 | |||
| Hisamitsu Sugano | Democratic | July 30, 1998 | July 22, 2001 | |||
| Shōji Motooka | Democratic | August 7, 2001 | July 25, 2004 | |||
| Gīchi Tsunoda | Democratic | July 30, 2004 | January 30, 2007 | |||
| Akira Imaizumi | Democratic | January 30, 2007 | July 28, 2007 | |||
| Akiko Santō | Liberal Democratic | August 7, 2007 | July 30, 2010 | |||
| Hidehisa Otsuji | Liberal Democratic | July 30, 2010 | December 26, 2012 | |||
| Masaaki Yamazaki | Liberal Democratic | December 26, 2012 | August 2, 2013 | |||
| Azuma Koshiishi | Democratic | August 2, 2013 | July 25, 2016 | |||
| Akira Gunji | Democratic | August 1, 2016 | August 1, 2019 | |||
| Toshio Ogawa | Constitutional Democratic | August 1, 2019 | August 3, 2022 | |||
| Hiroyuki Nagahama | Constitutional Democratic | August 3, 2022 | Incumbent | |||