Japan's Takaichi to Launch Reshuffled Cabinet Later on Thurs.

Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to launch her reshuffled cabinet later on Thursday, retaining most of her key ministers.

Takaichi, who also heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, gathered the letters of resignation from her ministers at an extraordinary cabinet meeting in the morning.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, 57, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, 70, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, 67, and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 45, are expected to be reappointed.

LDP lawmaker Yoshihiro Seki, 61, former state minister of economy, trade and industry, is likely to be given a ministerial post, joining the cabinet for the first time.

Seki, a former member of the now-defunct intraparty faction previously led by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was involved in the high-profile "slush funds" scandal, which rocked the LDP. He will be the first to obtain a ministerial post among those involved in the political fund scandal since it came to light.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]