National Security Advisor (Japan)

The Secretary-General of the National Security Secretariat (国家安全保障局長, Kokka-Anzen-Hoshō-Kyoku-Chō), commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, is the head of the National Security Secretariat, a department within the Cabinet Secretariat in charge of the National Security Council.^[1] As the principal advisor to the Prime Minister on matters regarding national security, the Secretary-General is one of the most senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.^[2] The Secretary-General is appointed and serves at the pleasure of the Prime Minister.

Secretary-General of the National Security Secretariat
国家安全保障局長
Emblem of the Government of Japan
Incumbent Masataka Okano since 20 January 2025
Cabinet Secretariat
Reports to	Prime Minister of Japan
Appointer	Prime Minister of Japan
Term length	No fixed term
Formation	December 4, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-12-04)
Deputy	Deputy Secretary-General of the National Security Secretariat

The current Secretary-General is former Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Masataka Okano, who took office on 20 January 2025.^[3]

List of Secretaries-General

No.	Name	Tenure start	Tenure end	Tenure length	Ref
1	Shotaro Yachi	4 December 2013	12 September 2019	5 years and 283 days	[4]
2	Shigeru Kitamura	13 September 2019	6 July 2021	1 year and 297 days	[5]
3	Takeo Akiba	7 July 2021	20 January 2025	3 years and 198 days	[5]
4	Masataka Okano	20 January 2025	Incumbent	198 days	[3]