Takaichi Likely to Retain LDP Secretary-General Suzuki

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is considering retaining LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki in the upcoming reshuffles of her cabinet and the party’s leadership team, sources in the Takaichi administration said Thursday. According to the sources, LDP Vice President Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara will also likely be kept in the posts in the reshuffles, currently planned for Sept. 16-18. Aiming to win re-election as LDP president in the party’s leadership poll in autumn next year, Takaichi hopes to stabilize her administration by retaining key cabinet members and LDP executives. Suzuki is a brother-in-law of Aso, a key backer of the Takaichi administration, and a member of the LDP’s only remaining faction, led by the party vice president. While there has been speculation that Suzuki, who is not highly trusted by Takaichi, may be replaced, the prime minister apparently believes that retaining Suzuki would be in her interest because this would show that she attaches importance to both Aso and Suzuki, a source said, noting that Suzuki was secretary-general when the LDP secured a landslide victory in February’s election for the House of Representatives, the all-important lower parliamentary chamber. Meanwhile, Kihara shares conservative political beliefs with Takaichi. A member of the now-defunct LDP faction led by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, which is said to be a major force within the party, Kihara has been involved in the current administration’s key decision-making processes. He also serves as a liaison between the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. An official of the LDP said that there is “no need to drastically revamp” the cabinet and the LDP executive team, due to stable public support for Takaichi’s cabinet. Some within the party believe that Motegi, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, internal affairs minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi, all regarded as candidates for Takaichi’s successor, will likely be allowed to continue playing key roles in the revamped cabinet or LDP leadership team. Another focal point will be the treatment of those serving in key cabinet posts, including Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. The JIP plans to switch from its current cooperation with the Takaichi administration from outside the cabinet to a tie-up involving a party member occupying a ministerial post. Takaichi will work with the JIP to pick a member who would join her cabinet and a specific ministerial post to be allocated to the party. On Thursday, JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, also governor of the western Japan prefecture of Osaka, told reporters at the prefectural government office on Thursday that he plans to “hold talks with the prime minister to reach a decision” on the cabinet position for the JIP that would help realize the LDP-JIP coalition agreement. Takaichi is considering reshuffling her cabinet, the LDP leadership team and the lineup of state ministers and parliamentary vice ministers over the course of three days from Sept. 16. If cabinet approval for a fiscal 2027 tax system reform package including a plan to lower the consumption tax rate on food is delayed, the reshuffles may be pushed back to late September, after the prime minister returns from a U.S. trip to attend a U.N. General Assembly session in New York. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]