(Anadolu)
TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reshuffled her Cabinet on Thursday, retaining several senior ministers as she sought continuity ahead of an extraordinary parliamentary session expected in October.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi kept their posts in Takaichi’s first Cabinet reshuffle since taking office last year.
Internal Affairs Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was replaced, while Hiroshi Nakatsuka of the Japan Innovation Party joined the Cabinet as minister in charge of regulatory reform. His appointment marks the first Cabinet post for a member of the LDP’s junior coalition partner.
Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, has largely favored continuity in both her Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership as her administration prepares for the upcoming parliamentary session.
The reshuffle comes nearly a year after Takaichi assumed office in October 2025. The government is also expected to appoint new senior vice ministers and parliamentary vice ministers following the Cabinet changes.
