Abe Faction Kickbacks Scandal Forces Four Changes to Kishida Cabinet

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is set to make four changes to his cabinet following a scandal over Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers in the faction formerly led by the late Abe Shinzō receiving kickbacks from sales of tickets for fundraising parties. Hayashi Yoshimasa, who served as foreign secretary until the September reshuffle, will take over as chief cabinet secretary from Matsuno Hirokazu; Saitō Ken replaces Nishimura Yasutoshi as minister of economy, trade, and industry; Matsumoto Takeaki returns as minister of internal affairs and communications in place of Suzuki Junji; and Sakamoto Tetsushi takes over from Miyashita Ichirō as minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. This means that there are no more members of the Abe faction in the cabinet.

The new cabinet will be formally announced later on December 14.

The full list of cabinet members is as follows. Ages are as of December 14, 2023. Asterisks (*) mark the four changes.

Prime minister

Kishida Fumio (66), LDP, House of Representatives (Hiroshima)

* Minister of internal affairs and communications

Matsumoto Takeaki (64), LDP, House of Representatives (Hyōgo)

Minister of justice

Koizumi Ryūji (71), LDP, House of Representatives (Saitama)

Minister for foreign affairs

Kamikawa Yōko (70), LDP, House of Representatives (Shizuoka)

Minister of finance; minister of state for financial services

Suzuki Shun’ichi (70), LDP, House of Representatives (Iwate)

Minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology

Moriyama Masahito (70), LDP, House of Representatives (proportional representation)

Minister of health, labor, and welfare

Takemi Keizō (72), LDP, House of Councillors (Tokyo)

* Minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries

Sakamoto Tetsushi (73), LDP, House of Representatives (Kumamoto)

* Minister of economy, trade, and industry

Saitō Ken (64), LDP, House of Representatives (Chiba)

Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism

Saitō Tetsuo (71), Kōmeitō, House of Representatives (proportional representation)

Minister of the environment

Itō Shintarō (70), LDP, House of Representatives (Miyagi)

Minister of defense

Kihara Minoru (54), LDP, House of Representatives (Kumamoto)

* Chief cabinet secretary

Hayashi Yoshimasa (62), LDP, House of Representatives (Yamaguchi)

Minister for digital transformation

Kōno Tarō (60), LDP, House of Representatives (Kanagawa)

Minister for reconstruction

Tsuchiya Shinako (71), LDP, House of Representatives (Saitama)

Chair of the National Public Safety Commission

Matsumura Yoshifumi (59), LDP, House of Councillors (Kumamoto)

Minister of state for regional revitalization

Jimi Hanako (47), LDP, House of Councillors (proportional representation)

Minister for economic revitalization

Shindō Yoshitaka (65), LDP, House of Representatives (Saitama)

Minister for economic security

Takaichi Sanae (62), LDP, House of Representatives (Nara)

Minister of children’s policy

Katō Ayuko (44), LDP, House of Representatives (Yamagata)

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: From left, new cabinet members Matsumoto Takeaki [© Jiji], Sakamoto Tetsushi, Saitō Ken, and Hayashi Yoshimasa [all three © Reuters].)