Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara announced the lineup of ministers of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s new cabinet on Thursday. Many key ministers are retained as Takaichi, who also heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, aims to further stabilize her administration. They are Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, 70, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, 67, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 45, and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa, 65, as well as Kihara, 57. Meanwhile, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, 65, who ran against Takaichi in last year’s LDP leadership election, will leave the cabinet. How the prime minister would treat him has been closely watched. Hiroshi Nakatsuka, 70, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, the coalition partner of the LDP, will assume the post of minister in charge of regulatory reform, becoming the first cabinet member from the JIP since the two parties formed the partnership in October last year. The reshuffled Takaichi cabinet is set to be formally launched later on Thursday following an attestation ceremony for her ministers at the Imperial Palace, slated to start 3:15 p.m. The prime minister will then hold a press conference from 6:30 p.m. to explain the purpose of the cabinet shake-up and how she will run her administration going forward. Ahead of the cabinet reshuffle, Takaichi revamped the executive lineup of the LDP on Wednesday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
