| Ministry of the Navy | |
| Native Name A: | 海軍省 |
| Native Name R: | Kaigun-shō |
| Preceding1: | Ministry of War |
| Preceding6: | --> |
| Superseding1: | Ministry of Defense |
| Superseding6: | --> |
| Minister8 Name: | --> |
| Deputyminister8 Name: | --> |
| Chief9 Name: | --> |
| Child25 Agency: | --> |
| Keydocument6: | --> |
The was a cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). It existed from 1872 to 1945.
The Navy Ministry was created in April 1872, along with the Army Ministry, to replace the of the early Meiji government.
Initially, the Navy Ministry was in charge of both administration and operational command of the Imperial Japanese Navy. However, with the creation of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff in May 1893, it was left with only administrative functions.
"The ministry was responsible for the naval budget, ship construction, weapons procurement, personnel, relations with the Diet and the cabinet and broad matters of naval policy. The General Staff directed the operations of the fleet and the preparation of war plans".[1] The post of Navy Minister was politically powerful. Although a member of the Cabinet after the establishment of the cabinet system of government in 1885, the Navy Minister was answerable directly to the Emperor (the commander-in-chief of all Japanese armed forces under the Meiji Constitution) and not the Prime Minister.
Up until the 1920s, the Navy Ministry held the upper hand over the Navy General Staff in terms of political influence. However, the officers of the Navy General Staff found an opportunity at the Washington Naval Conference in 1921–22 to improve their situation. At this meeting, the United States and Britain wanted to establish a worldwide naval ratio, asking the Japanese to limit themselves to a smaller navy than the Western powers. The Naval Ministry was willing to agree to this, seeking to maintain the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, but the Navy General Staff refused. The Imperial Japanese Navy became divided into mutually hostile Fleet Faction and Treaty Faction political cliques. Ultimately, the treaty was signed by Japan, but terminated in 1934. Through the 1930s, with increasing Japanese militarism, the Fleet Faction gradually gained ascendancy over the Treaty Faction and came to dominate the Navy General Staff, which pushed through the attack on Pearl Harbor against the resistance of the Navy Ministry.
After 1937, both the Navy Minister and the Chief of the Navy General Staff were members of the Imperial General Headquarters.
With the defeat of the Empire of Japan in World War II, the Navy Ministry was abolished together with the Imperial Japanese Navy by the American occupation authorities in November 1945 and was not revived in the post-war Constitution of Japan.
By law, Navy Ministers had to be appointed from active duty admirals or vice-admirals.
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term of Office | Cabinet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saigō Jūdō 西郷 従道 | 22 December 1885 | 17 May 1890 | 1st Itō | |
| Kuroda | |||||
| 1st Yamagata | |||||
| 2 | Kabayama Sukenori 樺山 資紀 | 17 May 1890 | 8 August 1892 | ||
| 1st Matsukata | |||||
| 3 | Nire Kagenori 仁礼 景範 | 8 August 1892 | 11 March 1893 | 2nd Itō | |
| 4 | Saigō Jūdō 西郷 従道 | 11 March 1893 | 8 November 1898 | ||
| 2nd Matsukata | |||||
| 3rd Itō | |||||
| 1st Ōkuma | |||||
| 5 | Yamamoto Gonnohyōe 山本 權兵衞 | 8 November 1898 | 7 January 1906 | 2nd Yamagata | |
| 4th Itō | |||||
| 1st Katsura | |||||
| 6 | Saitō Makoto 斎藤 実 | 7 January 1906 | 16 April 1914 | 1st Saionji | |
| 2nd Katsura | |||||
| 2nd Saionji | |||||
| 3rd Katsura | |||||
| 1st Yamamoto | |||||
| 7 | Yashiro Rokurō 八代 六郎 | 16 April 1914 | 10 August 1915 | 2nd Ōkuma | |
| 8 | Katō Tomosaburō 加藤 友三郎 | 10 August 1915 | 15 May 1923 | ||
| Terauchi | |||||
| Hara | |||||
| Takahashi | |||||
| Katō | |||||
| 9 | Takarabe Takeshi 財部 彪 | 15 May 1923 | 7 January 1924 | ||
| 2nd Yamamoto | |||||
| 10 | Murakami Kakuichi 村上 格一 | 7 January 1924 | 11 June 1924 | Kiyoura | |
| 11 | Takarabe Takeshi 財部 彪 | 11 June 1924 | 20 April 1927 | Katō | |
| 1st Wakatsuki | |||||
| 12 | Keisuke Okada 岡田 啓介 | 20 April 1927 | 2 July 1929 | 1st Tanaka | |
| 13 | Takarabe Takeshi 財部 彪 | 2 July 1929 | 3 October 1930 | Hamaguchi | |
| 14 | Kiyokazu Abo 安保 清種 | 3 October 1930 | 13 December 1931 | ||
| 2nd Wakatsuki | |||||
| 15 | Mineo Ōsumi 大角 岑生 | 13 December 1931 | 9 March 1936 | Inukai | |
| Saitō | |||||
| Saitō | |||||
| Okada | |||||
| 16 | Osami Nagano 永野 修身 | 9 March 1936 | 2 February 1937 | Hirota | |
| 17 | Mitsumasa Yonai 米内 光政 | 2 February 1937 | 30 August 1939 | Hayashi | |
| 1st Konoe | |||||
| 1st Hiranuma | |||||
| 18 | Zengo Yoshida 吉田 善吾 | 30 August 1939 | 5 September 1940 | Abe | |
| Yonai | |||||
| 2nd Konoe | |||||
| 19 | Koshirō Oikawa 及川 古志郎 | 5 September 1940 | 18 October 1941 | ||
| 3rd Konoe | |||||
| 20 | Shigetarō Shimada 嶋田 繁太郎 | 18 October 1941 | 17 July 1944 | Tojo | |
| 21 | Naokuni Nomura 野村 直邦 | 17 July 1944 | 22 July 1944 | ||
| 22 | Mitsumasa Yonai 米内 光政 | 22 July 1944 | 1 December 1945 | Koiso | |
| Suzuki | |||||
| Higashikuni | |||||
| Shidehara | |||||