Japan’s prime minister reshuffles LDP leadership while retaining key allies
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has opted for continuity rather than a sweeping overhaul in reshuffling the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Against the backdrop of a busy legislative agenda and next year’s internal party leadership contest, Takaichi kept several influential allies in key positions.
On Wednesday, Takaichi, who also heads the LDP, carried out the party’s first executive reshuffle since she took over as party president last October. Most members of the party’s executive leadership retained their posts. Former Prime Minister Taro Aso remained LDP vice-president, while Shunichi Suzuki kept his position as secretary general. Meanwhile, Diet Affairs Committee chief Hiroshi Kajiyama replaced Haruko Arimura as chair of the LDP’s General Council.
Hideki Murai, a former deputy chief cabinet secretary, succeeded Kajiyama as head of the LDP’s Diet Affairs Committee. In the upper house, Junichi Ishii was replaced as the party’s secretary general by Kazuhiko Aoki. Kyodo News reported that Ishii’s relationship with the prime minister appeared to have deteriorated amid legislative deadlocks with the opposition in parliament.
Japanese media have also viewed the reshuffle in the context of Takaichi’s position within the party and next autumn’s LDP presidential election. Asahi Shimbun noted that Takaichi does not have her own faction within the party and received backing from Aso’s faction in last October’s LDP leadership race. Aso and his brother-in-law Suzuki remain among the key figures supporting her political base.
Takaichi is also scheduled to reshuffle her cabinet on Thursday. Japanese media have previously reported that Hiroshi Nakatsuka, secretary general of the Japan Innovation Party, is expected to join the government. The move could mark a shift in the LDP-JIP coalition from cooperation outside the cabinet toward closer cooperation within the government itself.
As reported by CCTV+, the LDP reshuffle reflects Takaichi’s efforts to maintain continuity within the party leadership while preparing for the next legislative and internal political cycle.
