Profiles of Ministers in Japan’s Takaichi Cabinet I

Tokyo, Oct. 21 (Jiji Press)–Following are profiles of ministers in the cabinet of new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, launched Tuesday: Sanae Takaichi, Prime Minister Takaichi, 64, was first elected to the Diet, Japan’s parliament, in the 1993 election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber. After switching among parties, she joined the Liberal Democratic Party in 1996. She grew increasingly conservative as she deepened ties with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Takaichi, who served as internal affairs minister and chair of the LDP’s Policy Research Council, showed her stoic nature when she said just after her recent party leadership election victory, “I’ll give up work-life balance.” But she is said to be tolerant of diverse working styles of people around her. During her tenure as internal affairs minister, she abolished the practice of having officials lecture the minister from early in the morning on how to answer questions from lawmakers in the Diet. There are many in the ministry who continue to support her. Takaichi’s political hero is Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister. Takaichi broke the political glass ceiling and secured the position of prime minister in her third attempt at the LDP leadership. Takaichi, a former heavy metal drummer, loves British band Deep Purple. She is also a fan of the Japanese professional baseball team Hanshin Tigers. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Hayashi, 64, is known as one of the LDP’s most prominent policy experts, previously filling key cabinet posts such as chief cabinet secretary and foreign minister. Due to the fact that his birthday is Jan. 19 and some of his cabinet appointments came in the aftermath of emergencies, such as resignations and sackings of his predecessors, Hayashi has been dubbed “Mr. 119,” in reference to Japan’s emergency telephone number, 119. He has tried his hand at running for LDP president in three elections. A guitar and piano player, Hayashi heads a band made up of lawmakers called Gi!nz. Hiroshi Hiraguchi, Justice Minister The 77-year-old, a former official of the Construction Ministry, now the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, is known for his practical skills. Although he was severely injured when he was hit by a car on a crosswalk near the Diet building, Hiraguchi continued his activities as a lawmaker, earning the nickname of “immortal” from the late former LDP General Council Chairman Wataru Takeshita. Toshimitsu Motegi, Foreign Minister Motegi, 70, has experience in key government roles such as trade minister and economic revitalization minister, as well as senior LDP posts including Policy Research Council chair, Election Strategy Committee head and secretary-general. U.S. President Donald Trump called him a “tough negotiator” following talks for a Japan-U.S. trade agreement that took effect in 2020. Motegi, who led a now-defunct LDP faction, has a reputation for being competent, but he is also said to be highly demanding of others and difficult to please. He finished last among the five candidates in the LDP leadership race this month, failing to advance to a runoff for the second time. He is working to change his image by projecting a friendlier persona on social media. Satsuki Katayama, Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama, 66, joined the Finance Ministry after graduating from the University of Tokyo and became the country’s first female budget examiner. She won a parliamentary seat for the first time in the 2005 general election that followed then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s dissolution of the Lower House to realize postal service privatization. She was a leading figure among the “assassin” candidates put up by Koizumi to defeat LDP members opposing the privatization plan. Katayama was named parliamentary vice minister of economy, trade and industry with only a single electoral victory. She became a member of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, after losing her Lower House seat in 2009. She then made a cabinet debut in the Abe administration, taking up the post of regional revitalization minister. Katayama has been praised for her agility but has sometimes been criticized for rash behavior. She once arrived late to a board meeting while serving as chair of the Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, and publicly apologized later. Her former husband is former Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe. Yohei Matsumoto, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Matsumoto, 52, a former employee of Sanwa Bank, now MUFG Bank, was first elected to the Diet in the 2005 Lower House poll. At the LDP, he worked as director of the Youth Division, widely seen as a post for a promising young party member. Concurrently serving as vice chairman of the Policy Research Council and head of its secretariat, Matsumoto worked under three consecutive council chairmen–Koichi Hagiuda, Kisaburo Tokai and Itsunori Onodera. In June this year, he and Onodera flew over the Japan-China median line in the East China Sea in a Self-Defense Forces aircraft to inspect Chinese gas development activities. Matsumoto supported former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi in the last two LDP presidential elections, serving as head of Kobayashi’s camp. Kenichiro Ueno, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Born as the first son of the owner of a general store in Nagahama in the western prefecture of Shiga, Ueno, 60, became interested in regional revitalization and joined the Home Affairs Ministry, now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. He believes that Japan cannot make an economic revival without regional revitalization. After winning a parliamentary seat for the first time in 2005, Ueno gained knowledge on tax affairs as he served as state minister of finance and a senior member of the LDP’s Research Commission on the Tax System. He has a reputation for attention to detail and is deeply trusted by former LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama. Ueno’s hobby is watching musicals. His favorite is “Les Miserables.” Norikazu Suzuki, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Suzuki, 43, who started his career as an agriculture ministry official, is known for his hands-on attitude. Having retired from public service in 2012, he moved to his father’s hometown in Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan, and started his political career as a Lower House member. Describing himself as a “rice geek,” Suzuki loves searching out delicious rice. In a Lower House plenary meeting in 2016, he abstained from voting on the approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement for free trade, citing his pledge to oppose it made ahead of his first election victory. Suzuki supported Motegi in two LDP leadership elections as a member of the now-defunct Motegi faction. In the administration of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Suzuki served as state minister for postdisaster reconstruction, working on revitalizing the areas hit hard by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Ryosei Akazawa, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa, 64, is a close aide to Ishiba, under whose administration he made his cabinet debut as economic revitalization minister. He was put in charge of tariff negotiations with the U.S. government and reached a deal after visiting the United States 10 times over half a year. In one meeting, the chief negotiator entered talks wearing a cap emblazoned with “MAGA,” an acronym of “Make America Great Again,” gifted to him by Trump. The connections he had built in this role helped him gain a spot in the Takaichi cabinet. Akazawa also led efforts to significantly raise minimum wages in Japan, but he was criticized for political intervention after making behind-the-scenes requests related to the matter. He is known for his witty comments on X, formerly Twitter. Yasushi Kaneko, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kaneko, 64, known for his smooth handling of work, he joined a cabinet for the second time. After serving as a Diet member’s secretary, he ran as an independent in the 2000 Lower House election and won a parliamentary seat for the first time. He joined the LDP in 2001 and served as state minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism and as chairman of the Lower House Committee on Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. In the administration of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, he became internal affairs and communications minister, assuming his first cabinet post. At the post, he worked to spread the use of the My Number social security and taxation card and dealt with a mobile phone carrier’s massive service outage. He actively posts his daily activities on social media, and on Tuesday, the day when the new administration was launched, he promptly uploaded a photograph of Takaichi and a selfie. His creed is “No nation prospers without regional prosperity.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]