President of the House of Councillors

President of the House of Councillors
President of the House of Councillors
参議院議長
	Emblem of the Government of Japan
	Incumbent; Masakazu Sekiguchi; since 11 November 2024
	House of Councillors
Style	Mr. President (informal); The Honourable (formal)
Residence	The President's Official Residence (not in use)
Appointer	House of Councillors
Term length	Three years; renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Japan
Formation	May 20, 1947; 77 years ago
Deputy	Vice President of the House of Councillors

The president of the House of Councillors (参議院議長, Sangiin-gichō) is the presiding officer of the House of Councillors, the upper house 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 Masakazu Sekiguchi, who took office on 11 November 2024.

Selection

President Akiko Santo with House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on 12 January 2022

The election of the president takes place on the day of the new session, under the moderation of the secretary-general of the House.^[2] 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.^[2]

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.

Powers and duties

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".^[2]

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.^[2] 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.^[2]

List of presidents of the House of Councillors

		Term start	Term end
Tsuneo Matsudaira Councillor for Fukushima (1877–1949)	Ryokufūkai	May 20, 1947	November 14, 1949
Naotake Satō Councillor for Aomori (1882–1971)	Ryokufūkai	November 15, 1949	May 19, 1953
Yahachi Kawai Councillor for Shizuoka (1877–1960)	Ryokufūkai	May 19, 1953	April 3, 1956
Tsuruhei Matsuno Councillor for Kumamoto (1883–1962)	Ryokufūkai	April 3, 1956	August 6, 1962
Yūzō Shigemune Councillor for National District (1894–1976)	Liberal Democratic	August 6, 1962	July 17, 1971
Kenzō Kōno Councillor for Kanagawa (1901–1983)	Liberal Democratic	July 17, 1971	July 3, 1977
Ken Yasui Councillor for Tokyo (1911–1986)	Liberal Democratic	July 28, 1977	July 7, 1980
Masatoshi Tokunaga Councillor for National District (1913–1990)	Liberal Democratic	July 17, 1980	July 9, 1983
Mutsuo Kimura Councillor for Okayama (1913–2001)	Liberal Democratic	July 18, 1983	July 22, 1986
Masaaki Fujita Councillor for Hiroshima (1922–1996)	Liberal Democratic	July 22, 1986	September 30, 1988
Yoshihiko Tsuchiya Councillor for Saitama (1926–2008)	Liberal Democratic	September 30, 1988	October 4, 1991
Yūji Osada Councillor for PR District (1917–2003)	Liberal Democratic	October 4, 1991	July 9, 1992
Bunbē Hara Councillor for Tokyo (1913–1999)	Liberal Democratic	August 7, 1992	July 22, 1995
Jūrō Saitō Councillor for Mie (born 1940)	Liberal Democratic	August 4, 1995	October 19, 2000
Yutaka Inoue Councillor for Chiba (1927–2008)	Liberal Democratic	October 19, 2000	April 22, 2002
Hiroyuki Kurata Councillor for Chiba (1938–2020)	Liberal Democratic	April 22, 2002	July 30, 2004
Chikage Oogi Councillor for PR District (1933–2023)	Liberal Democratic	July 30, 2004	July 28, 2007
Satsuki Eda Councillor for Okayama (1941–2021)	Democratic	July 28, 2007	July 25, 2010
Takeo Nishioka Councillor for PR District (1936–2011)	Democratic	July 30, 2010	November 5, 2011
Kenji Hirata Councillor for Gifu (born 1944)	Democratic	November 14, 2011	July 28, 2013
Masaaki Yamazaki Councillor for Fukui (born 1942)	Liberal Democratic	August 2, 2013	July 25, 2016
Chūichi Date Councillor for Hokkaido (born 1939)	Liberal Democratic	August 1, 2016	July 28, 2019
Akiko Santō Councillor for PR District (born 1942)	Liberal Democratic	August 1, 2019	August 3, 2022
Hidehisa Otsuji Councillor for Kagoshima (born 1940)	Liberal Democratic	August 3, 2022	November 11, 2024
Masakazu Sekiguchi Councillor for Saitama (born 1953)	Liberal Democratic	November 11, 2024	Incumbent

List of vice presidents of the House of Councillors

		Term start	Term end
Jiichirō Matsumoto Councillor for National District (1887–1966)	Socialist	May 20, 1947	February 24, 1949
Kisaku Matsushima Councillor for National District (1891–1977)	Democratic Liberal	March 26, 1949	May 2, 1950
Jirō Miki Councillor for Kanagawa (1885–1963)	Socialist	July 12, 1950	May 2, 1953
Yūzō Shigemune Councillor for National District (1894–1976)	Liberal	May 19, 1953	May 9, 1956
Yutaka Terao Councillor for Kochi (1898–1972)	Liberal Democratic	May 9, 1956	June 12, 1958
Tarō Hirai Councillor for Kagawa (1905–1973)	Liberal Democratic	June 16, 1958	July 7, 1962
Yōtoku Shigemasa Councillor for National District (1895–1977)	Liberal Democratic	August 6, 1962	June 1, 1965
Kenzō Kōno Councillor for Kanagawa (1901–1983)	Liberal Democratic	July 30, 1965	August 3, 1968
Ken Yasui Councillor for Tokyo (1911–1986)	Liberal Democratic	August 3, 1968	July 17, 1971
Yasoichi Mori Councillor for National District (1899–1990)	Liberal Democratic	July 17, 1971	July 7, 1974
Kazuo Maeda Councillor for Wakayama (1910–1978)	Liberal Democratic	July 27, 1974	July 28, 1977
Kan Kase Councillor for Chiba (1910–1995)	Socialist	July 28, 1977	August 30, 1979
Chōzō Akiyama Councillor for Okayama (1917–2010)	Socialist	August 30, 1979	July 9, 1983
Noboru Agune Councillor for National District (1912–2004)	Socialist	July 18, 1983	July 7, 1986
Hideyuki Seya Councillor for Saitama (1919–2008)	Socialist	July 22, 1986	August 7, 1989
Akira Ono Councillor for Fukuoka (1920–1990)	Socialist	August 7, 1989	April 19, 1990
Ippei Koyama Councillor for Nagano (1914–2011)	Socialist	April 25, 1990	July 7, 1992
Misao Akagiri Councillor for Chiba (1920–2010)	Socialist	August 7, 1992	August 4, 1995
Kanpei Matsuo Councillor for Aomori (1927–2013)	New Frontier	August 4, 1995	July 25, 1998
Hisamitsu Sugano Councillor for Hokkaido (1928–2006)	Democratic	July 30, 1998	July 22, 2001
Shōji Motooka Councillor for Hyogo (1931–2017)	Democratic	August 7, 2001	July 25, 2004
Giichi Tsunoda Councillor for Gunma (1937–2024)	Democratic	July 30, 2004	January 30, 2007
Akira Imaizumi Councillor for Chiba (1934–2021)	Democratic	January 30, 2007	July 28, 2007
Akiko Santō Councillor for PR District (born 1942)	Liberal Democratic	August 7, 2007	July 30, 2010
Hidehisa Otsuji Councillor for PR District (born 1940)	Liberal Democratic	July 30, 2010	December 26, 2012
Masaaki Yamazaki Councillor for Fukui (born 1942)	Liberal Democratic	December 26, 2012	August 2, 2013
Azuma Koshiishi Councillor for Yamanashi (born 1936)	Democratic	August 2, 2013	July 25, 2016
Akira Gunji Councillor for Ibaraki (born 1949)	Democratic	August 1, 2016	August 1, 2019
Toshio Ogawa Councillor for Tokyo (born 1948)	Constitutional Democratic	August 1, 2019	August 3, 2022
Hiroyuki Nagahama Councillor for Chiba (born 1958)	Constitutional Democratic	August 3, 2022	Incumbent