Minister (government) in the context of "European Commissioner"

The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty-seven administrative divisions, with the emperor as its head of state. His role is ceremonial and he has no powers related to the Government. Instead, it is the Cabinet, comprising the prime minister and the ministers of state, that directs and controls the government and the civil service. The Cabinet has the executive power and is formed by the prime minister, who is the head of government. The Prime Minister is nominated by the National Diet and appointed to office by the Emperor. The current cabinet is the Takaichi Cabinet, which is led by prime minister Sanae Takaichi, who assumed office on 21 October 2025. The country has had a Liberal Democratic minority government since 2025.

The National Diet is the legislature, the organ of the Legislative branch. The Diet is bicameral, consisting of two houses with the House of Councilors being the upper house, and the House of Representatives being the lower house. The members of both houses of the Diet are directly elected by the people, who are the source of sovereignty. The Diet is defined as the supreme organ of sovereignty in the Constitution. The Supreme Court and other lower courts make up the Judicial branch and have all the judicial powers in the state. The Supreme Court has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the constitution and the power of judicial review. The judicial branch is independent from the executive and the legislative branches. Judges are nominated or appointed by the Cabinet and never removed by the executive or the legislature except during impeachment.

A European commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the president of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent of government ministers.

The Cabinet of Japan (内閣, Naikaku; Japanese pronunciation: [naꜜi.ka.kɯ]) is the chief executive body of the government of Japan. It consists of the prime minister, who is appointed by the Emperor after being nominated by the National Diet, in addition to up to nineteen other members, called ministers of state. The current cabinet, the Takaichi Cabinet, was formed on 21 October 2025 and is led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The country has had a Liberal Democratic minority government since 2025.

The prime minister is nominated by the National Diet, while the remaining ministers are appointed and dismissed by the prime minister. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the National Diet and must resign if a motion of no confidence is adopted by the National Diet.

Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. Impeachment tends to be confined to ministerial officials as the unique nature of their positions may place ministers beyond the reach of the law to prosecute, or their misconduct is not codified into law as an offense except through the unique expectations of their high office. Both "peers and commoners" have been subject to the process, however.

From 1990 to 2020, there have been at least 272 impeachment charges against 132 different heads of state in 63 countries. In Latin America, which includes almost 40% of the world's presidential systems, ten presidents from seven countries were removed from office by their national legislatures via impeachments or declarations of incapacity between 1978 and 2019.

The Government of France (French: Gouvernement français, pronounced [ɡuvɛʁnəmɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ]), officially the Government of the French Republic (Gouvernement de la République française, [ɡuvɛʁnəmɑ̃ d(ə) la ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz]), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the prime minister, who is the head of government, as well as both senior and junior ministers.

The Council of Ministers, the main executive organ of the government, was established in the Constitution in 1958. Its members meet weekly at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The meetings are presided over by the president of France, the head of state, although the officeholder is not a member of the government.

A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are often appointed by either heads of state or government. Cabinets are typically the body responsible for the day-to-day management of the government and response to sudden events, whereas the legislative and judicial branches work in a measured pace, in sessions according to lengthy procedures.

The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries, it is a collegiate decision-making body with collective responsibility, while in others it may function either as a purely advisory body or an assisting institution to a decision-making head of state or head of government.

Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration.

These types of organizations are usually led by a politician who is a member of a cabinet—a body of high-ranking government officials—who may use a title such as minister, secretary, or commissioner, and are typically staffed with members of a non-political civil service, who manage its operations; they may also oversee other government agencies and organizations as part of a political portfolio. Governments may have differing numbers and types of ministries and departments. In some countries, these terms may be used with specific meanings: for example, an office may be a subdivision of a department or ministry.

The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs).The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU an "exclusive competence" to conclude trade agreements. Even so, member states' governments control every step of the process (via the Council of the European Union, whose members are national ministers from each national government):

• Before negotiations start, member states' governments (via the Council of Ministers) approve the negotiating mandate;
• During negotiations, member states' governments are regularly briefed on the progress of negotiations and can update the negotiations mandate or suspend negotiations;
• Upon conclusion of negotiations, member states' governments decide whether the agreement should be signed;
• After approval from the European Parliament and (in case the agreement covers areas other than trade such as investment protection) upon ratification in each member state parliament, member states' governments decide whether the agreement should be concluded and enter into effect.

The list below only includes countries that have an FTA with the European Union according to the WTO.