Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to retain key figures including Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in an upcoming cabinet reshuffle, according to reports.
Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 5th that Takaichi is weighing the plan with an eye to policy continuity ahead of a reshuffle expected in the middle of this month.
Keeping Policy Focus, Prioritizing U.S. Ties and Laying Groundwork for Next Year's Leadership Race
Takaichi is considering carrying out the cabinet reshuffle and a shake-up of Liberal Democratic Party leadership posts between the 16th and 18th, Jiji Press reported. The moves are expected to be completed after the cabinet approves an outline of tax reform that includes a cut to the consumption tax on food, and before she attends the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.
Both ministers have held their posts since the government took office in October last year. Katayama, a former finance bureaucrat, built the framework of what the government calls "responsible proactive fiscal policy." Pushing for support for budget requests across 17 strategic sectors designated by the government, she has said there is "no longer anything that deserves to be called a ceiling" on spending. Major tasks still ahead include compiling the year-end budget and a consumption tax cut set to run for two years from April next year.
Her close ties with Washington are another reason her position looks secure. With the Donald Trump administration likely to step up pressure on Japan in both security and economic areas, appointing officials who can communicate smoothly with the U.S. has become more important, Nikkei said. Katayama also led an unusual joint Japan-U.S. intervention in the foreign exchange market in July.
Motegi handles issues involving both the United States and China. Last month, Washington imposed sanctions on Tomoko Akane, the first Japanese president of the International Criminal Court. Relations with Beijing chilled sharply after Takaichi's remarks last year on a possible contingency involving Taiwan.
Motegi's main counterpart is U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He hosted foreign ministers' meetings of the Quad — the four-country grouping of Japan, the United States, Australia and India — in India in May and in the Philippines in July. He has also kept lines open to Iran, which is at war with the United States. In repeated phone talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, he pressed for guarantees of free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while also making active visits to countries in Africa and Latin America as a counterweight to China.
Political calculation also figures in Motegi's retention. The ruling LDP is set to hold a leadership election next autumn, because Takaichi took office through a by-election after former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned 11 months into his term, leaving the party presidency to expire in September next year. Motegi is close to LDP Vice President Taro Aso, who leads the only faction within the party. There was once speculation that Takaichi would keep her distance from the Aso faction, but the two are said to have confirmed their support for her over a three-hour dinner in Tokyo late last month.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who faced Takaichi in last year's LDP leadership runoff, is also expected to stay. Koizumi maintains a close relationship with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. During the Kumamoto earthquake in July, Hegseth contacted Koizumi to say he would "do whatever we can," and U.S. forces in Japan delivered drinking water and other supplies. Koizumi has also strengthened ties with U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass.
Washington is pressing allies to raise defense spending. The Japanese government will revise three security-related documents, including its National Security Strategy, at the end of 2026. Relationships between Japanese and U.S. cabinet officials are expected to shape discussions over whether to raise Japan's defense spending target further from the level set at 2% of gross domestic product.
Koizumi's role has grown more important as talks intensify over the host nation support budget for U.S. forces in Japan, revised every five years and due by the end of this year, and as the government moves to rewrite the three security documents. Some also read his retention as an attempt to keep a rival in check, given that he competed with Takaichi to the last round of the leadership race.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa, who has led negotiations with the United States, is also unlikely to be replaced. Akazawa traveled to Washington to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and said on the 4th that there would be no tariffs exceeding last year's Japan-U.S. agreement, which caps rates at 15%. Akazawa said the two sides confirmed that last year's tariff agreement remains unchanged and that they will continue working to implement it. The previous day, he also met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and discussed the status of $550 billion (741 trillion won) in investment in the United States.
Akazawa is also seen as having a good relationship with Takaichi. An official at an economic organization told Reuters that both Katayama and Akazawa are the right people for their jobs and that there would be no reason to replace them. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara is also expected to be retained in the reshuffle, according to reports. In the LDP executive appointments to be made alongside the reshuffle, Takaichi intends to keep Aso as vice president and Shunichi Suzuki as secretary-general.
