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Kyodo

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retained many of her Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) executives on Wednesday, in her first reshuffle since taking the helm of the ruling party about a year ago.
Takaichi kept the influential former prime minister Taro Aso as vice-president and his brother-in-law, Shunichi Suzuki, as secretary general, as she seeks to maintain continuity ahead of what is likely to be a packed legislative agenda into the end of the year.
Policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi was also retained, while Hiroshi Kajiyama, a former industry minister seen as a safe pair of hands, replaced Haruko Arimura as head of the LDP’s decision-making General Council.
Kajiyama’s former role as Diet affairs chief was filled by House of Representatives member Hideki Murai, previously a deputy chief Cabinet secretary under former prime minister Fumio Kishida.

The appointment of a politician without cabinet experience as the LDP’s chief negotiator in parliament comes after he played a significant role in talks with opposition parties on key bills.
Among other appointments, party election strategy chief Yasutoshi Nishimura and Executive Acting Secretary General Koichi Hagiuda, both of whom were implicated in a high-profile political slush funds scandal that emerged in late 2023 and dealt a heavy blow to the party, were kept on in their roles.
Takaichi won the LDP’s presidential contest on October 4, 2025, and became the country’s first female prime minister later the same month.
The reshuffle comes ahead of changes to Takaichi’s cabinet on Thursday, and as the ruling coalition of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party prepares for an extraordinary Diet session, likely to start in early October.
The session is likely to include deliberations towards passing a cut of the consumption tax on food products from 8 per cent to 1 per cent for two years from April, and on a controversial political reform bill reducing Diet seats that led to a boycott by the opposition in the previous session.
In the cabinet revamp, she is tipped to retain a number of her top team, including Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
Minoru Kiuchi is likely to stay on as minister in charge of economic revitalisation, according to the Yomiuri newspaper.
Markets been focusing on whether Kiuchi, known as ‌an advocate of expansionary fiscal and ⁠monetary ⁠policy, will retain his post for clues on ‌whether the recent bond sell-off could prod Takaichi ‌to water ‌down her big spending ‌plans.
As minister overseeing the Cabinet Office, Kiuchi has the right to attend the Bank of Japan’s policy-setting meetings as one of the two government representatives. The Finance Ministry has the right to send the other government representative.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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The reshuffle comes ahead of changes to Takaichi’s cabinet, in which she is likely to also retain key ministers


The reshuffle comes ahead of changes to Takaichi’s cabinet, in which she is likely to also retain key ministers.


Japan’s Takaichi opts for stability in first reshuffle since taking over LDP

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The reshuffle comes ahead of changes to Takaichi’s cabinet, in which she is likely to also retain key ministers

The reshuffle comes ahead of changes to Takaichi’s cabinet, in which she is likely to also retain key ministers