Abe Reshuffles Cabinet After House of Councillors Election (August 2016)
Politics
On August 3, 2016, Prime Minister Abe made his second reshuffle since his reelection in December 2014. New faces include Inada Tomomi as minister of defense, while potential leadership rival Ishiba Shigeru was removed from the cabinet.
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Prime Minister Abe Shinzō reshuffled his cabinet on August 3, 2016, for the second time since being reelected in December 2014. Key figures including Minister of Finance Asō Tarō, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi Sanae, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida Fumio, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide were among those who retained their positions.
Inada Tomomi was appointed as minister of defense, switching from her previous role as chair of the Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Council. As before the reshuffle, there are three female ministers in the new cabinet.
Abe introduced the new position of minister for reform of working patterns; Katō Katsunobu will add this role to his portfolio as minister for dynamic engagement of all citizens. Meanwhile, Ishiba Shigeru, a possible future challenger to Abe for leadership of the party, was removed from his position as minister in charge of reviving local economies and is no longer part of the cabinet.
In the party’s executive arm, Nikai Toshihiro became secretary-general, replacing Tanigaki Sadakazu, who was hospitalized after a cycling accident last month. Nikai was replaced in his former position as chair of the LDP General Council by Hosoda Hiroyuki, who had been executive acting secretary-general. Motegi Toshimitsu moved from chairing the Election Strategy Committee to become chair of the LDP Policy Research Council. Kōmura Masahiko remained in his position as vice president.
The full cabinet is as follows.
| Position | Name | Party, district, times elected | Prior positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime minister | Abe Shinzō (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Yamaguchi 4Elected 8 times | Prime minister (2006–7, 2012–) |
| Deputy prime ministerMinister of financeMinister of state for financial servicesMinister in charge of overcoming deflation | Aso Tarō (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Fukuoka 8Elected 12 times | Prime minister (2008–9) |
| Minister for internal affairs and communicationsMinister of state for My Number system | Takaichi Sanae (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Nara 2Elected 7 times | Minister of state for special missions (2006–7), chair of the Policy Research Council (2012–) |
| Minister of justice | Kaneda Katsutoshi | LDPLower house, Akita 2Elected 3 times to lower house, 2 times to upper house | Senior vice minister for foreign affairs (2005–6) |
| Minister for foreign affairs | Kishida Fumio (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Hiroshima 1Elected 8 times | Minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs (2007–8) |
| Minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technologyMinister in charge of education rebuilding | Matsuno Hirokazu | LDPLower house, Chiba 3Elected 6 times | Senior vice minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology (2008) |
| Minister of health, labor, and welfare | Shiozaki Yasuhisa (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Ehime 1Elected 7 times to lower house, 1 time to upper house | Senior vice minister for foreign affairs (2005–6), chief cabinet secretary (2006–7) |
| Minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries | Yamamoto Yūji | LDPLower house, Kōchi 2Elected 9 times | Senior vice minister of finance (2003–4), minister of state for financial services (2006–7) |
| Minister of economy, trade, and industryMinister in charge of industrial competitivenessMinister in charge of the response to the economic impact caused by the nuclear accidentMinister of state for the nuclear damage compensation and decommissioning facilitation corporation | Sekō Hiroshige | LDPUpper house, WakayamaElected 4 times | Special advisor to the prime minister (2006–7), deputy chief cabinet secretary (2012–16) |
| Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourismMinister in charge of water cycle policy | Ishii Keiichi (unchanged) | KōmeitōLower house, proportional representation (northern Kantō)Elected 8 times | Senior vice minister of finance (2003–4), chairman of the Kōmeitō Policy Research Council (2010–15) |
| Minister of the environmentMinister of state for nuclear emergency preparedness | Yamamoto Kōichi | LDPLower house, Ehime 4Elected 8 times | Senior vice minister of internal affairs and communication (2004–5) |
| Minister of defense | Inada Tomomi | LDPLower house, Fukui 1Elected 4 times | Minister in charge of administrative reform (2012–14), chairwoman of the LDP Policy Research Council (2014–16) |
| Chief cabinet secretaryMinister in charge of alleviating the burden of the bases in Okinawa | Suga Yoshihide (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Kanagawa 2Elected 7 times | Minister for internal affairs and communications (2006–7) |
| Minister for reconstructionMinister in charge of comprehensive policy coordination for revival from the nuclear accident at Fukushima | Imamura Masahiro | LDPLower house, proportional representation (Kyūshū)Elected 7 times | Senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (2007–8) |
| Chairperson of the National Public Safety CommissionMinister in charge of ocean policy and territorial issuesMinister of state for consumer affairs and food safety, regulatory reform, and disaster management | Matsumoto Jun | LDPLower house, Kanagawa 1Elected 6 times | Deputy chief cabinet secretary (2008–9) |
| Minister of state for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, “Cool Japan” strategy, intellectual property strategy, science and technology policy, space policy, and information technology policy | Tsuruho Yōsuke | LDPUpper house, WakayamaElected 4 times | Senior vice minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism (2012–13) |
| Minister in charge of economic revitalizationMinister in charge of total reform of social security and taxMinister of state for economic and fiscal policy | Ishihara Nobuteru (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Tokyo 8Elected 9 times | Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism (2003–4), minister of the environment (2012–14) |
| Minister for promoting dynamic engagement of all citizensMinister for reform of working patternsMinister in charge of women's empowermentMinister in charge of "Challenge Again" initiativeMinister in charge of the abduction issueMinister of state for measures for declining birthrate and gender equality | Katō Katsunobu (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Okayama 5Elected 5 times | Deputy chief cabinet secretary (2012–15) |
| Minister of state for overcoming population decline and reviving local economies, regulatory reform, administrative reform, and civil service reform | Yamamoto Kōzō | LDPLower house, Fukuoka 10Elected 7 times | Senior vice minister of economy, trade, and industry (2006–7) |
| Minister of state for Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics | Marukawa Tamayo | LDPUpper house, TokyoElected 2 times | Parliamentary secretary of health, labor, and welfare (2012–13), minister of the environment (2015–16) |
| Deputy chief cabinet secretary | Hagiuda Kōichi (unchanged) | LDPLower house, Tokyo 24Elected 4 times | Parliamentary secretary of education, culture, sports, science, and technology (2008–9), special advisor to the LDP president (2013–15) |
| Deputy chief cabinet secretary | Nogami Kōtarō | LDPUpper house, ToyamaElected 3 times | Senior vice minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism (2013–14) |
| Deputy chief cabinet secretary | Sugita Kazuhiro (unchanged) | National Police Agency Security Bureau chief (1994–97), deputy chief cabinet secretary for crisis management (2001–4) | |
| Director-general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau | Yokobatake Yūsuke (unchanged) | Deputy director-general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau (2011–14) | |