Prosecutors and Police Executives Transferred in Official Gazette Personnel Changes

In the “Personnel Changes” section of the Official Gazette dated October 7, Reiwa 8, the government announced the appointment and reassignment of prosecutors by the Ministry of Justice, the replacement of police executives by the National Public Safety Commission and the National Police Agency, and executive personnel changes by the Ministry of Defense. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice announced the appointment and dismissal of notaries via official government reports. The effective dates ranged from September 7 to October 1, marking a simultaneous shift in core positions across the prosecution, public security, and defense sectors.

The Personnel Changes section of the Official Gazette is the venue where ministries and agencies officially announce appointments, reassignments, and approvals of resignations; all of the current changes were listed in this section. The same issue of the Gazette also includes notices of changes to registered items by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, as well as the announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries regarding the 78th National Veterinary Examination (to be held on February 16 and 17, Reiwa 9, in Hokkaido, Tokyo, and Fukuoka).

Ministry of Justice Announces Appointment and Reassignment of Prosecutors

As of October 1, the Ministry of Justice issued a series of personnel orders, including the transfer of judges to prosecutors.

• Hironori Ogusa (Assistant Judge of the Tachikawa Branch of the Tokyo District Court, Assistant Judge of the Tachikawa Branch of the Tokyo Family Court, and Judge of the Tachikawa Summary Court) is appointed as a Second-Class Prosecutor (Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office) and concurrently serves as a Legal Affairs Officer (attached to the Judicial Legal Affairs Department, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of Justice).
• Kenji Matsushita (Assistant Judge of the Tokyo District Court and Judge of the Tokyo Summary Court) is appointed as a Second-Class Prosecutor (Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office) and concurrently serves as a Legal Instructor (Instructor at the Legal Training and Research Institute).
• Eriko Kikuchi (Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Prosecutor) is reassigned as a prosecutor at the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office.
• Risa Watanabe (Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office Prosecutor) is reassigned as a prosecutor at the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office.
• Hidemi Tanaka (Assistant Prosecutor of the Tomakomai District Public Prosecutors Office) is reassigned as an Assistant Prosecutor of the Sapporo District Public Prosecutors Office.
• Toru Masuda (Chief Investigator, Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office) Prosecution Official is transferred to the position of Director of the Public Security Affairs Division, Public Security Department, Supreme Public Prosecutors Office.
• Kyohei Fukuda (Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Prosecutor and attached to the Litigation Department of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau) is relieved of his concurrent appointment as a Legal Affairs Officer (attached to the Litigation Department of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau).
• Rieko Fukumoto is appointed as a member of the Regional Parole Board (Member of the Kyushu Regional Parole Board).
• Prosecutor Yukiko Koga is concurrently appointed as a member of the Judicial Examination Committee.

National Public Safety Commission and National Police Agency Replace Executives

As of September 7, the National Public Safety Commission issued personnel orders for the Chief of the Nara Prefectural Police Headquarters, and on the same date, the National Police Agency reassigned executives in the technical and security fields.

• Jun Iizaki (Director of the Second Security Division, Security Operations Department, Security Bureau, National Police Agency, Senior Commissioner) is appointed as the Chief of the Nara Prefectural Police.
• Kenji Miyanishi (Chief of the Nara Prefectural Police) is appointed as a Technical Official of the National Police Agency and ordered as the Director of the Information Technology Analysis Division, Cyber Police Bureau, National Police Agency.
• Masato Yahagi (Attached to the Security Bureau, National Police Agency, Senior Commissioner) is appointed as the Director of the Second Security Division, Security Operations Department, Security Bureau, National Police Agency.
• Masatoshi Morita (Director of the Technical Planning Division, Minister’s Secretariat, National Police Agency, Police Supervisor) is appointed as a Technical Official of the National Police Agency and ordered as the Director of the Police Information and Communications Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
• Hideaki Taneda (Director of the Information Technology Analysis Division, Cyber Police Bureau, National Police Agency) is appointed as a Police Supervisor and ordered as the Director of the Technical Planning Division, Minister’s Secretariat, National Police Agency, concurrently attached to the Minister’s Secretariat.
• The resignation of Hiroshi Suezawa (Director of the Police Information and Communications Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department) as a Technical Official of the National Police Agency is approved.

Ministry of Defense Changes Secretary Handling and Appoints/Dismisses Notaries

The Ministry of Defense changed the personnel handling secretary duties as of September 17, and the Ministry of Justice appointed and dismissed notaries as of September 26.

• Junji Kamei (Counselor for Operational Coordination, Defense Policy Bureau, Defense Secretary) is transferred to Defense Official (attached to the Minister’s Secretariat) and ordered to handle secretary duties.
• Taro Hayashi (Attached to the Minister’s Secretariat, Defense Official) is relieved of secretary handling duties and transferred to Defense Secretary (Counselor for Operational Coordination, Defense Policy Bureau).
• Shoji Koga (Notary affiliated with the Fukuoka Legal Affairs Bureau) was dismissed as a notary upon request.
• Eiji Aiko is appointed as a notary and ordered as the successor to Shoji Koga, a notary affiliated with the Fukuoka Legal Affairs Bureau.

These personnel changes involve moving prosecutors between the public prosecutors’ offices of Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo; replacing the heads of the Nara Prefectural Police and the security and cyber divisions of the National Police Agency; and rotating personnel between the Minister’s Secretariat and the Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Defense. As the chains of command are updated within the cores of prosecution, public security, and defense, this will impact the practical operation of investigations, security, and policy coordination.

Source: Official Gazette (Wednesday, October 7, 2026) “Personnel Changes” section (Ministry of Justice, National Public Safety Commission, National Police Agency, Ministry of Defense), Government Reports “Appointment and Dismissal of Notaries,” National Examinations “78th National Veterinary Examination (Announcement).” Official PDF: https://www.kanpo.go.jp/20261007/20261007h01803/pdf/20261007h018030008.pdf