This is a list of prime ministers of Japan by time in office.
Of the 65 past prime ministers, six served more than 5 years while twenty served less than a year. Ità  Hirobumi became the first Japanese prime minister in 1885 and is the only person to have served on four occasions. Shinzo Abe is the longest-serving prime minister with over eight years on two occasions, while Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni is the shortest-serving at eight weeks. Katsura Tarà  was the longest-serving prime minister in the Imperial period (1885âÂÂ1947) and the only person to have served on three occasions.