Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aimed to put herself in a strong position for her ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s next leadership election, scheduled for autumn 2027, through the reshuffles of the LDP leadership team and her cabinet, carried out Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Almost all of the ministers in her reshuffled cabinet are from a group comprising lawmakers who are close to the prime minister, while many appointments reflect considerations for LDP Vice President Taro Aso, chief of the only remaining faction in the party. Although Takaichi has said that her decisions for cabinet and party leadership roles were made in a meritocratic manner, there is strong discontent among some in the party. Meritocracy In a press conference Thursday, after the inauguration of her new cabinet, Takaichi explained that she selected people for the roles “based on a careful assessment of their enthusiasm and passion, and their ability to get things done.” She denied that the appointments were linked to the 2027 LDP leadership election. The latest cabinet shake-up was unlike those of the past, as new picks for ministerial positions were barely reported in the media until new appointees were formally called in by Takaichi on Thursday. One new minister said that “strict information controls” had been imposed. “It’s a roster (for Takaichi) to win the leadership election,” said an LDP source who learned the full cabinet lineup only on Thursday. “The personnel choices are about expelling anyone who gets in the way.” Sixteen of the 18 ministers in the reshuffled cabinet belong to the lawmaker group nicknamed “JiB,” short for “Japan is Back,” Takaichi’s slogan during last year’s LDP leadership race. JiB was launched by those close to the prime minister in May this year. While nominally a study group, it is widely viewed as fulfilling the function of a litmus test of whether lawmakers support the prime minister. More than 80 pct of LDP lawmakers are in the group, amid fears that those who do not join may be viewed as anti-Takaichi. The only non-JiB members in the new cabinet are digital transformation minister Toshiharu Furukawa, 63, a member of the Senate, the upper chamber of parliament, and regulatory reform minister Hiroshi Nakatsuka, 70, a member of the LDP’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. “At the prime minister’s request, reports on whether individual lawmakers are supportive of the administration had been submitted to her,” a source close to Takaichi said. Takaichi removed from the cabinet agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki, with whom she was reportedly at odds over the government’s plan to buy back rice for its stockpiles. Meanwhile, she did not hesitate to pick lawmakers who were embroiled in the high-profile “slush funds” scandal involving LDP factions, because they are cooperative with the administration. Specifically, Takaichi retained in the LDP leadership team three of the five core members of the now-defunct intraparty faction once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe–Election Strategy Committee Chairman Yasutoshi Nishimura, Executive Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda and Party Organization and Campaign Headquarters Chairman Hirokazu Matsuno. She also selected two lawmakers who were involved in the political fund scandal for ministerial posts. The Influence of Factions Takaichi also took care to reflect the wishes of Aso, a key supporter of the prime minister. She informed him and his brother-in-law, LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, at an early stage that they would remain in their positions. She held meetings with Aso three times since late August. According to informed sources, Takaichi’s decision to retain Policy Research Council Chairman Takayuki Kobayashi and appoint Hiroshi Kajiyama as General Council chairman reflected Aso’s wishes. She appointed Senator Yusuke Nakanishi, who belongs to the Aso faction, as one of the deputy chief cabinet secretaries, a role that involves working closely with the prime minister. Although all LDP factions but the Aso faction have been disbanded in the wake of the slush funds scandal, those who were members of some of the now-defunct factions compiled lists of ministerial appointment recommendations for submission to the prime minister ahead of the latest reshuffle. However, there were no signs that Takaichi took these disbanded factions’ interests into account. Instead, the prime minister placed greater importance on a questionnaire on desired posts covering all LDP lawmakers in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. “I thoroughly read the questionnaire results and scrutinized people’s expertise, awareness of issues and enthusiasm,” she told a press conference Thursday. “Almost everyone was appointed to the requested post.” Some LDP members welcomed the approach, with one younger lawmaker saying, “It was good that we could convey our preferences without going through factions.” Meanwhile, others said that candidates were ultimately judged from the standpoint of whether they would defy the prime minister. One former cabinet member expressed discontent with the fact that Takaichi asked even former prime ministers to fill out the questionnaire, calling it “beyond being disrespectful.” “She’s a Japanese version of (U.S. President Donald) Trump,” one party veteran lamented. Avoiding Explanation on Hayashi Another focus of the reshuffles was how the four rivals who competed against Takaichi in last year’s LDP leadership election would be treated. Giving them key government posts would make it more difficult for them to turn against the prime minister in next year’s party leadership election. Of the four, it was quickly confirmed that Kobayashi, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi would be retained, while Yoshimasa Hayashi quit as internal affairs minister and left the cabinet. Speculation is growing within the party over whether the prime minister did not seek to retain Hayashi or Hayashi declined to stay in the cabinet. Takaichi avoided giving an explanation on this at Thursday’s press conference, saying, “I would like to refrain from commenting on individual ministerial appointments.” On Wednesday, Junichi Ishii, who was reportedly at loggerheads with the prime minister, was removed from the post of secretary-general for LDP lawmakers in the Senate. The move prompted a growing view within the LDP that Takaichi intervened in Upper House personnel decisions, which have long been regarded as something off limits to the party’s leader. Some have speculated that Hayashi may run in the next LDP leadership election and that Ishii and other party members dissatisfied with Takaichi may rally behind him. “Sources of trouble have definitely left (within the party),” a former cabinet minister said, voicing anxiety over the future of the Takaichi administration. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
