The
ministries of Japan are the most influential part of the
executive branch of the
Japanese government. Each
ministry is headed by a
Minister of State appointed by the
Prime Minister. In postwar politics, the posts of ministers have been given to senior legislators, mostly of the
LDP. However, few ministers serve for more than one or two years to develop the necessary grasp of the organisation to become really influential. Thus, most of the power lies within the ministries, with the senior
bureaucrats.