Buichiro Kuroda

Buichiro Kuroda
黒田武一郎
Grand Steward of the Imperial Household
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 24, 2025
MonarchNaruhito
Vice StewardYoshimi Ogata
Preceded byYasuhiko Nishimura
Vice Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency
In office
December 19, 2023 – 24 December, 2025
MonarchNaruhito
Grand StewardYasuhiko Nishimura
Preceded byKenji Ikeda
Succeeded byYoshimi Ogata
Personal details
Born (1960-02-20) February 20, 1960
Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture
Alma materUniversity of Tokyo

Buichiro Kuroda (Japanese: 黒田武一郎, Hepburn: Kuroda Buichiro; born February 20, 1960) is a Japanese official who serves as Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency since December 2025.[1]

Early life and education

Kuroda was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, graduating from Nada High School.[2] He gained his alma mater from the University of Tokyo.[3]

Early career

Kuroda became part of the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1982, and later the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.[4] He has held many governmental positions such as Director General of the Local Public Finance Bureau, Commissioner of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and Administrative Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.[5][6] During the Tohokushinsha Film and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications scandal, Kuroda was one of the people who received an ethics warning.[7] He also received a warning due to entertainment he had received from the NTT, in violation of the ethics code.[8] He resigned from his posts in 2022.[9]

Vice Grand Steward

In 2023, Kuroda was appointed Vice Steward of the Imperial Household Agency.[10]

In April 2024, he made a statement commenting on the Imperial family reaching a million followers on Instagram, stating "It is a reminder of the strong public interest in the imperial family. I'm filled with a renewed sense of responsibility". He went on to comment "We will continue to refine our public relations approach, engaging a wider audience, including younger generations".[11]

In June of that same year, Kuroda was the first official of the Imperial Household Agency to announce that Empress Emerita Michiko had contracted COVID-19, at a regular press conference.[12]

In 2025, Yasuhiko Nishimura announced his retirement as Grand Steward, with Buichiro Kuroda to succeed him on December 24.[1]

Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency

Kuroda became Grand Steward on the 24th as planned. His vice steward, and the one succeeding him as vice steward, is Yoshimi Ogata.[13]

On 25 December, 2025, Kuroda gave his first press conference. "I have been given a job of great responsibility. I will do my best, even if my abilities are small." He also discussed the imperial succession and the debate surrounding it, stating "I would like to take various opportunities to explain the importance of this issue."[14]

References

  1. ^ a b 日本放送協会 (December 15, 2025). "宮内庁長官に黒田武一郎次長が就任へ 今後の閣議で正式決定". NHKニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  2. ^ "霞が関ふるさと記　経産省の立岡事務次官は灘OB［兵庫県・中］（万年野党事務局） @gendai_biz". 現代ビジネス (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  3. ^ ""次期宮内庁長官"幹部が電撃交代！"剣道＆合気道有段者""小説出版"新次長の意外な素顔 (2023年12月25日)". エキサイトニュース (in Japanese). December 25, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  4. ^ 産経新聞 (December 15, 2025). "宮内庁長官に黒田次長が就任へ 6年在任の西村氏は退任 コロナ禍の皇室のご活動支え". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  5. ^ "総務省｜自治大学校｜自治大TOPICS". 総務省 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  6. ^ "地方交付税を考える―制度への理解と財政運営の視点". 紀伊國屋書店ウェブストア｜オンライン書店｜本、雑誌の通販、電子書籍ストア (in Japanese). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  7. ^ "減給7人戒告2人、総務省接待で処分 総務相は給与返納". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). February 24, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  8. ^ "総務省の違反会食78件 関与の32人、減給や訓告処分". 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  9. ^ "総務次官に山下哲夫氏起用 16年ぶり旧総務庁出身". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). June 17, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  10. ^ "宮内庁次長に黒田武一郎氏". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  11. ^ Nakada, Ayako (April 23, 2024). "Imperial family garners 1 million followers quickly on Instagram". Asahi Shimbun.
  12. ^ "Japanese empress emerita catches COVID-19". chinadailyhk. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  13. ^ 社会部, 時事通信 (December 19, 2025). "宮内庁長官に黒田氏 西村氏は退任、新次長に緒方氏：時事ドットコム". 時事ドットコム (in Japanese). Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  14. ^ "宮内庁、新旧長官が会見、皇族数減少めぐり西村氏「じくじたる思い」：朝日新聞". 朝日新聞 (in Japanese). December 25, 2025. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.