Cabinet scandals and minister resignations happen frequently in Japan. In recent years, political opponents and the mass media have approached such cases as occasions for pursuit of the prime minister’s ‘appointive responsibility’. Based on comprehensive source material since 1989 but focusing particularly on 2006–2012, this paper introduces appointive responsibility as an object of critical analysis. Emphasizing that the notion has distinct ideological implications, I pinpoint the rhetorical techniques and strategic rationale underlying appointive responsibility and show that the phenomenon operates in two logically opposed forms. The first form follows a causality principle and presents the prime minister as inappropriately ignorant. The second one operates according to a representative logic and revolves around inappropriate knowledge. Outlining and problematizing both forms, the paper analytically unravels key aspects of a new paradigm of executive leadership and responsibility in Japanese political discourse. The paper contributes to a better qualitative understanding of responsibility constructs in recent Japanese politics and delivers a focused critical examination of appointive responsibility as a key rhetorical vehicle for tapping into frustrated public expectations of political leadership.

中文翻译：

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一个合格的首相：日本内阁丑闻中的任命责任

内阁丑闻和部长辞职在日本经常发生。近年来，政治反对派和大众媒体将此类案件视为追求总理“任命责任”的机会。基于 1989 年以来的全面原始材料，但特别关注 2006-2012 年，本文将任命责任作为批判性分析的对象。强调该概念具有不同的意识形态含义，我指出了任命责任背后的修辞技巧和战略原理，并表明该现象以两种逻辑上对立的形式运作。第一种形式遵循因果关系原则，将首相描述为不恰当的无知。第二种是按照代表性逻辑运作，围绕不恰当的知识展开。本文对这两种形式进行概述和问题化，分析性地揭示了日本政治话语中行政领导和责任新范式的关键方面。该论文有助于更好地定性理解近期日本政治中的责任结构，并对任命责任进行了集中批判性审查，将其作为一种关键的修辞手段，以挖掘公众对政治领导的失望期望。