Minister of State for Combating the Decline of Births and for Gender Equality
As Minister of State for Combating the Decline of Births and Gender Equality , this article brings together two existing and two former ministerial offices for Gender Equality and Combating the Decline of Births in Japan. All four are or were naikaku-fu tokumei tantō daijin ( Japanese 内閣 府 特命 担当 大臣 ), German about "Minister at the Cabinet Office for Special Tasks", and thus Minister of State ( kokumu daijin ).
During the restructuring of the central government in 2001, which took effect in the reshaped second cabinet of Yoshirō Mori, a “Minister for Special Tasks” was set up, who was responsible for “promoting gender equality” ( 男女 共同 参 画 , danjo kyōdō sankaku ). The office and the successor positions are jointly responsible for the danjo kyōdō sankaku kaigi ( 男女 共同 参 画 会議 ), the "Conference for the Promotion of Gender Equality", which is chaired by the head of the cabinet secretariat .
In 2003, another "Minister at the Cabinet Office for Special Tasks" was created with responsibility for "Youth Education and Decline in Births" ( 青少年 育成 及 び 少子 化 , seishōnen ikusei oyobi shōshika ). In 2005, the task was merged with gender equality to form a “Minister for Special Tasks”, whose area of responsibility was then only shōshika, danjo kyōdō sankaku ( 少子 化 ・ 男女 共同 参 画 , “ lower birth rates, promotion of gender equality”). In 2007, the two tasks were again distributed to two ministers at the cabinet office, one for shōshika taisaku ( 少子 化 対 策 , "measures against the decline in the birth rate") and one for danjo kyōdō sankaku . Both ministerial positions continue to be occupied mostly by the same minister, typically a woman, i.e. a minister.
Establishment as a cross-sectional task
The political responsibilities were already explicitly assigned beforehand (without a fixed budget at the cabinet office): The ministerial task of gender equality appeared for the first time on April 5, 2000 in the Mori I cabinet under the chief cabinet secretary and the head of the Okinawa's development agency in a personal unit. The ministerial task to combat the decline in the birth rate appeared for the first time on November 19, 2003 in the Koizumi II cabinet under the chairmanship of the National Commission for Public Security in personal unity with the State Minister for Youth Education and Food Safety. The two tasks remained separate for several cabinet phases, but changed their assignment, e.g. For example, in the Koizumi III cabinet , births were subordinate to the Minister of Justice, who was responsible for educating young people and combating the decline in the birth rate, while equality lay with the Chief Cabinet Secretary in unity as Minister of State for Gender Equality.
List of appointments to the ministerial office
| Commencement | cabinet | minister | chamber | fraction | Faction (s) | further ministerial areas | additional areas of responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 31, 2005 | Koizumi III (U) | Kuniko Inoguchi ♀ | Shūgiin | LDP | - | - | - |
| September 26, 2006 | Abe I | Sanae Takaichi ♀ | Shūgiin | LDP | Machimura | Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, science and technology policy, innovation, food safety | - |
| August 27, 2007 | Abe I (U) | Yōko Kamikawa ♀ | Shūgiin | LDP | Koga | - | - |
| September 26, 2007 | Y. Fukuda | Yōko Kamikawa ♀ | Shūgiin | LDP | Koga | - | - |
| August 2, 2008 | Y. Fukuda (U) | Kyōko Nakayama ♀ | Sangiin | LDP | Machimura | Kidnapping issue | - |
| September 24, 2008 | Aso | Yūko Obuchi ♀ | Shūgiin | LDP | Tsushima | - | - |
| September 16, 2009 | Y. Hatoyama | Mizuho Fukushima ♀ | Sangiin | SDP | - | Consumer protection and food safety | - |
| May 28, 2010 | Y. Hatoyama | Hirofumi Hirano ♂ | Shūgiin | DPJ | Hatoyama | Consumer protection and food safety | - |
| June 8, 2010 | Can | Kōichirō Gemba ♂ | Shūgiin | DPJ | Maehara | - | Reform of the civil service |
| 17th September 2010 | Kan (U1) | Tomiko Okazaki ♀ | Sangiin | DPJ | Yokomichi | Consumers and Food Safety | Chair of the National Public Security Commission |
| January 14, 2011 (managing director from August 30, 2011) |
Kan (U2) | Kaoru Yosano ♂ | Shugiin | → DPJ | - | Economic and financial policy | responsible for "integrated or fundamental social security and tax reform" (shakai hosho, zei ittai kaikaku) |
| September 2, 2011 | Noda | Renhō (Murata) ♀ | Sangiin | DPJ | Noda | "Renewal of the administration" (gyōsei sasshin) | Reform of the civil service |