Former Minister of Justice, Yoko Uekawa, was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Kishida reorganized the cabinet to increase the number of female cabinet members to five
According to the Asahi Shimbun on September 13th, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reorganized his cabinet and adjusted the senior personnel of the Liberal Democratic Party.
According to the report, on the evening of the 12th, the new cabinet and the senior leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, excluding Kishida, were confirmed. In the four major positions of the Liberal Democratic Party, Secretary General Toshio Moriki and Political Consultative Conference Chairman Mitsuichi Hagimoto will continue to serve. In the new cabinet, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hiroyoshi Matsuno, was retained, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs was appointed by former Minister of Justice, Yoko Uekawa. The number of female cabinet members in the new cabinet has increased to 5, with 11 serving in the cabinet for the first time.
According to the report, except for two remaining candidates, the Chairman of the Election Strategy Committee, Yuki Moriyama, was appointed as the President of the General Affairs Committee in the four major positions of the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Director of the Organization Movement Headquarters, Yuko Obuchi, was appointed as the Chairman of the Election Strategy Committee. The Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party, Taro Aso, was also retained, and the original framework of the government and ruling party was basically maintained.
The report mentions that Koichi Hagimoto is an important member of the Abe faction, the largest faction within the Liberal Democratic Party, and a close confidant of the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Kishida hopes to gain the support of Abe faction in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election next autumn by keeping him in office, and to lead discussions within the party on economic policies to be finalized in September.
The report pointed out that in order to create a refreshing feeling, Kishida has increased the number of female colleagues from the previous 2 to 5. He employed Yoko Uesukawa in his highly regarded position as Minister of Foreign Affairs, hoping to showcase his image of actively promoting women to the international community. Cabinet government officials who have never served as deputy ministers, including Yingzi Zijian and former Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, Naoko Kato, will be promoted to Minister of Local Entrepreneurship and Minister of Youth Development, respectively. The Minister of Revitalization was appointed by former Deputy Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare, Tsuchiya Pinko, while the Minister of Economic Security, Takashi Zaomiao, continued to serve. The number of female cabinet members is the highest in history, along with the Koizumi cabinet launched in April 2001 and the Abe reshuffle cabinet launched in September 2014.
The report also stated that 11 people entered the cabinet for the first time, exceeding the 9 people who were reorganized in August 2022. The Minister of Defense is held by former Prime Minister's Assistant Toshio Kihara, while the Minister of General Affairs is held by former Deputy Minister of General Affairs Junji Suzuki.