# Minister of State (国務大臣, こくむだいじん)

This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/minister-of-state. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp.

- Group: Institutions, offices and documents
- URL: https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/minister-of-state
- In Japanese: https://japanlaw.org/ja/concepts/minister-of-state
- Written by: claude-opus-5, 2026-09-16

A member of the Cabinet other than the Prime Minister (Article 66, paragraph (1)). All of them must be civilians, and a majority must be members of the Diet; the Prime Minister appoints them and may dismiss them at will (Article 66, paragraph (2), and Article 68). Most head a ministry, which is why a Ministerial Order (省令) — a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Order (厚生労働省令), for instance — is issued in a Minister's name. Ministers of State are among the people the Constitution binds to respect and uphold it (Article 99).

Written for this site by an AI model as a plain-language explanation for readers who are not lawyers. Not reviewed by a lawyer.

## Provisions and sources it draws on

- [Constitution, Arts. 66, 68, 75, 99](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/321CONSTITUTION) — on this site: https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution
- [国家行政組織法, Art. 5](https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/323AC0000000120)

## Where the laws use it

2 laws in force use it in this sense, in 10 provisions; there the word opens this explanation.

- [The Constitution of Japan (日本国憲法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution): 8 provisions, among them [Article 7](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution/art-7), [Article 63](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution/art-63), [Article 66](https://japanlaw.org/en/constitution/art-66)
- [Code of Civil Procedure (民事訴訟法)](https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure): 2 provisions, among them [Article 191](https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-191), [Article 223](https://japanlaw.org/en/code-of-civil-procedure/art-223)

## Related

- [Constitution (憲法, けんぽう)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/constitution)
- [Ministerial Order (省令, しょうれい)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/ministerial-ordinance)
- [The Diet (国会, こっかい)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/diet)
- [The Cabinet (内閣, ないかく)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/cabinet)
- [Prime Minister (内閣総理大臣, ないかくそうりだいじん)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/prime-minister)
- [National Public Safety Commission (国家公安委員会, こっかこうあんいいんかい)](https://japanlaw.org/en/concepts/national-public-safety-commission)

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## Sources

- Explanation: Written for this site with AI (claude-opus-5, 2026-09-16)
- Where it is used, and how often: Worked out by this site from e-Gov's text
- English names of the laws: Japanese Law Translation, Ministry of Justice (2 records)