Takaichi Reshuffles Her Team

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly decided to reshuffle board members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and her cabinet ministers on September 16th. Overall speculation of news media is that Takaichi will not change most core members of her team. It can simply be a reshuffle for including Japan Innovation Party (JIP) in her cabinet to reinforce her leading coalition. It is unclear whether approval rate for her cabinet will show a boost. 

It is ordinary for an LDP administration to simultaneously renew members of LDP board and cabinet, because the prime minister casts political power through both of them. In 2022, the LDP revised its constitution that the term of board members would be one year and they cannot stay the same position beyond three years. It was to keep the party refreshed and avoid concentration of political power. Because the term of LDP board members expire every year, the cabinet is also reshuffled at the same time.

 

Takaichi had closed meetings with core members of her administration, including LDP Vice-president Taro Aso, LDP Secretary General Shun-ichi Suzuki or Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara. It indicated that Takaichi had consulted them about choices of her team members. Resultingly, it is supposed that Aso, Suzuki and Kihara will stay at their positions. Aso has been an anchor of Takaichi in the LDP and Kihara indispensable secretary and spokesman in Prime Minister’s office.

 

Most important members are staying. Minister of Finance, Satsuki Katayama, is going to stay to continue the dialogue with Secretary of Treasury of the United States, Scott Bessent, over instability in bond market and foreign exchange. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Toshimitsu Motegi, is supposed to be diplomatic chief which Takaichi does not seems to be good at. Minister of Defense, Shinjiro Koizumi, is in charge of revision of security documents by the end of this year.

 

Chairman of LDP Policy Research Council, Takayuki Kobayashi, is also expected to stay at his position with no specific reason except keeping him in Takaichi’s team to discourage him to run for LDP presidential election in the fall of 2027. One wild card is Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is supposed to seek a ticket for the presidential election. It cannot be ignored that Motegi, Koizumi, Kobayashi and Hayashi were the contenders of Takaichi in LDP presidential election last October.

 

So, why she needs to renew her team now? It is to include JIP in her cabinet. A cabinet minister participates in every decision of the Cabinet. Once a party sends a minister to the cabinet, it is not easy to oppose any policy the prime minister makes. The JIP is expected to take special issue related to its prioritized policy for introducing backup capital system.

 

As far as seeing JIP’s cooperative stance for Takaichi administration in last session of the Diet, it is unlikely for the party to leave the coalition with the LDP so soon. JIP’s participation to Takaichi Cabinet will not boost its approval rate significantly. It will be her handling of policies such as consumption tax cut or diplomacy to the U.S. or China that affects her popularity rather than whom she appoints to her team.

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