It is said that it was quite a long time ago in the history of Japan when a system considered to be the original sprout of the current Ministry of Finance (called the Zaimusho) was born. In modern Japan, the Ministry of Finance (called the Okurasho) was established in 1869 to comprehensively manage mintage, accounting and taxation. In 1886, as a fundamental reorganization took place, the Ministry was reestablished as a modern central administrative agency which manages national revenues and expenditures, taxation, government bonds, mintage, and banks.

The Bank Bureau was newly established in 1915, and in 1942　Building Maintenance and Administration Bureau, National Savings Bureau, Funds Bureau, Foreign Capital Bureau, and Administration Bureau were established, making up a ten-bureau system. After World War II, a large-scale reorganization took place under the "Law to Establish Ministry of Finance (Okurasho)" of 1949 and the Minister's Secretariat, Budget Bureau, Tax Bureau, Financial Bureau, Administration Bureau and Banking Bureau were established as an internal bureau. Later, after several reorganizations, the Ministry came to be composed of seven bureaus in 1968: Budget Bureau, Tax Bureau, Customs and Tariff Bureau, Financial Bureau, Securities Bureau, Banking Bureau and International Finance Bureau.

Due to the reorganization of central government ministries and agencies in January 2001, it was renamed the Ministry of Finance (Zaimusho), and is now made up of five bureaus: Minister's Secretariat and Budget Bureau, Tax Bureau, Customs and Tariff Bureau, Financial Bureau and International Bureau.