Key ministers, LDP leaders expected to keep positions amid personnel changes

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appears to be opting for continuity and stability ahead of the autumn session of parliament, as key members of her Cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership are expected to remain when personnel changes are announced next week.

Takaichi is likely to keep Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in their current positions.

Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi (left) hands a policy proposal to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Aug. 26.　 | JIJI

LDP Vice President Taro Aso, the party’s powerful behind-the-scenes kingmaker who turns 86 on Sept. 20 and whose support was crucial for Takaichi winning the LDP presidency last year, is likely to remain in his position. Aso’s brother-in-law — LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki — and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, a close ally of Takaichi, are also expected to stay on.

LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi will likely stay put or, possibly, receive a Cabinet post. As policy chief, he played a key role in getting controversial legislation — including that to revise the Imperial House Law, one establishing a secondary capital concept and another that punished acts of vandalizing the national flag — passed in parliament.

Kobayashi maintaining his current position means he would take the lead on the party’s parliamentary legislation this autumn, particularly on a bill to reduce the food consumption tax from 8% to 1% that has many LDP members concerned about how the Takaichi administration plans to cover the lost tax revenue.

Remaining policy chief or having a Cabinet position could also make it more difficult for Kobayashi to challenge Takaichi in next year’s presidential election. He ran against her in last year’s contest and is considered a potential rival next year.

The prime minister may keep Koizumi as defense minister for similar reasons — to have an experienced hand at the post and to keep Koizumi, a potential rival who lost the presidency to Takaichi in a run-off last year, at bay.

Other key LDP members who could be part of a reshuffle include Minister of Internal Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and Koichi Hagiuda, a powerful senior LDP executive. Hayashi also ran against Takaichi last year and may do so again.

Hagiuda was caught up in a slush fund scandal and received a one-year suspension from the party in 2024. Though on good terms with Takaichi, there is some concern within the LDP that appointing him to a Cabinet position could create public backlash that hurts the party.