Japan Data

New Prime Minister Kishida Fumio Names a Cabinet with Many Fresh Faces

Politics Society

On October 4, 2021, Kishida Fumio became prime minister of Japan, selecting a cabinet including 13 members without previous ministerial experience.

Kishida Fumio formally became prime minister of Japan on October 4, and he chose his first cabinet on the same day. There are 13 new faces in the 20 positions, and 3 women overall.

Among those joining the cabinet for the first time are two lawmakers in their forties. Makishima Karen (44) takes on the job of minister for digital transformation and Kobayashi Takayuki (46) the newly created position of minister for economic security.

Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo continue in the same positions as in Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s cabinet. Noda Seiko, Kishida’s rival in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race, becomes minister of state for measures for declining birthrate.

The full list of cabinet members is as follows. Ages are as of October 4, 2021.

Prime minister

Kishida Fumio (64), LDP, House of Representatives (Hiroshima)

Minister of internal affairs and communications (first cabinet post)

Kaneko Yasushi (60), LDP, House of Representatives (Kumamoto)

Minister of justice (first cabinet post)

Furukawa Yoshihisa (56), LDP, House of Representatives (Miyazaki)

Minister for foreign affairs (unchanged)

Motegi Toshimitsu (65), LDP, House of Representatives (Tochigi)

Minister of finance, minister of state for financial services

Suzuki Shun’ichi (68), LDP, House of Representatives (Iwate)

Minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology (first cabinet post)

Suematsu Shinsuke (65), LDP, House of Councillors (Hyōgo)

Minister of health, labor, and welfare (first cabinet post)

Gotō Shigeyuki (65), LDP, House of Representatives (Nagano)

Minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (first cabinet post)

Kaneko Genjirō (77), LDP, House of Councillors (Nagasaki)

Minister of economy, trade, and industry

Hagiuda Kōichi (58), LDP, House of Representatives (Tokyo)

Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism

Saitō Tetsuo (69), Kōmeitō, House of Representatives (proportional representation)

Minister of the environment (first cabinet post)

Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi (67), LDP, House of Representatives (Hyōgo)

Minister of defense (unchanged)

Kishi Nobuo (62), LDP, House of Representatives (Yamaguchi)

Chief cabinet secretary

Matsuno Hirokazu (59), LDP, House of Representatives (Chiba)

Minister for reconstruction, minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs (first cabinet post)

Nishime Kōsaburō (67), LDP, House of Representatives (Okinawa)

Chair of the National Public Safety Commission (first cabinet post)

Ninoyu Satoshi (77), LDP, House of Councillors (Kyoto)

Minister of state for measures for declining birthrate

Noda Seiko (61), LDP, House of Representatives (Gifu)

Minister for economic revitalization (first cabinet post)

Yamagiwa Daishirō (53), LDP, House of Representatives (Kanagawa)

Minister for digital transformation (first cabinet post)

Makishima Karen (44), LDP, House of Representatives (Kanagawa)

Minister in charge of COVID-19 vaccination (first cabinet post)

Horiuchi Noriko (55), LDP, House of Representatives (Yamanashi)

Minister for the World Exposition in Osaka (first cabinet post)

Wakamiya Kenji (60), LDP, House of Representatives (Tokyo)

Minister for economic security (first cabinet post)

Kobayashi Takayuki (46), LDP, House of Representatives (Chiba)

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Prime Minister Kishida Fumio (front, center) with the members of his new cabinet at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on October 4, 2021. © Jiji; pool photo.)

LDP cabinet Kishida Fumio