Story perspectives

Takaichi Keeps Key Ministers in Cabinet Reshuffle

By Drooid · Sep 17, 2026, 3:16 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Takaichi Reshuffles Cabinet

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi kept Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in Thursday’s Cabinet reshuffle.
He also retained growth strategy minister Minoru Kiuchi and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa.
Takaichi signaled coalition stability by likely adding a Japan Innovation Party member to the Cabinet for the first time.
The reshuffle aims to advance a food tax cut despite financing concerns.
Markets stayed calm as the Nikkei 225 was flat and yen at ¥155.6.

Summary

Kajiyama Heads Council

Hiroshi Kajiyama, former Diet Affairs Committee chairman, became General Council chairman in the LDP executive team.
Upper House Secretary-General Hiroshi Ishii was replaced by Hiroshi Aoki after Haruko Arimura declined the post.
Masafumi Murai, former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, took over as Diet Affairs Committee chairman.
A senior LDP official said the lineup prioritises stability and factional balance ahead of next year’s party presidential election.

History

Historical Context

In December 2012 Shinzo Abe returned as LDP president, won a landslide election and formed a 20-member cabinet that kept Finance Minister Taro Aso, launching a ¥10.3 trillion stimulus targeting a 2 % growth lift. In 2024 Sanae Takaichi reshuffled the cabinet, retaining Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama to signal continuity ahead of the 2025 LDP leadership race, a strategy first seen in Abe’s 2012 government.

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Takaichi Reshuffles Cabinet

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi kept Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in Thursday’s Cabinet reshuffle.
He also retained growth strategy minister Minoru Kiuchi and industry minister Ryosei Akazawa.
Takaichi signaled coalition stability by likely adding a Japan Innovation Party member to the Cabinet for the first time.
The reshuffle aims to advance a food tax cut despite financing concerns.
Markets stayed calm as the Nikkei 225 was flat and yen at ¥155.6.

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