Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru Names First Cabinet: No Members Connected to Kickbacks Scandal

On October 1, 2024, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru announced his first cabinet, which includes no members connected to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s kickbacks scandal. In the chief cabinet secretary position, he retains Hayashi Yoshimasa, who served under Kishida Fumio. There are 2 women in the cabinet and 13 ministers taking on cabinet posts for the first time.

Ishiba appointed former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide as LDP vice president, replacing Asō Tarō, who supported his rival Takaichi Sanae in the September 27 leadership contest. He picked Koizumi Shinjirō as the chair of the party’s election strategy committee.

The full list of cabinet members is as follows. Ages are as of October 1, 2024.

Prime minister

Ishiba Shigeru (67), LDP, House of Representatives (Tottori)

Minister of internal affairs and communications

Murakami Seiichirō (72), LDP, House of Representatives (Ehime)

Minister of justice (first cabinet post)

Makihara Hideki (53), LDP, House of Representatives (proportional representation)

Minister for foreign affairs

Iwaya Takeshi (67), LDP, House of Representatives (Ōita)

Minister of finance, minister of state for financial services

Katō Katsunobu (68), LDP, House of Representatives (Okayama)

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

Abe Toshiko (65), LDP, House of Representatives (proportional representation)

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

Fukuoka Takamaro (51), LDP, House of Councillors (Saga)

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

Ozato Yasuhiro (66), LDP, House of Representatives (proportional representation)

Minister of economy, trade, and industry (first cabinet post)

Mutō Yōji (68), LDP, House of Representatives (Gifu)

Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism (unchanged)

Saitō Tetsuo (72), Kōmeitō, House of Representatives (Hiroshima)

Minister of the environment (first cabinet post)

Asao Keiichirō (60), LDP, House of Councillors (Kanagawa)

Minister of defense

Nakatani Gen (66), LDP, House of Representatives (Kōchi)

Chief cabinet secretary, minister in charge of the abduction issue (unchanged)

Hayashi Yoshimasa (63), LDP, House of Representatives (Yamaguchi)

Minister for digital transformation (first cabinet post)

Taira Masaaki (57), LDP, House of Representatives (Tokyo)

Minister for reconstruction (first cabinet post)

Itō Tadahiko (60), LDP, House of Representatives (Aichi)

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

Sakai Manabu (59), LDP, House of Representatives (Kanagawa)

Minister of state for regional revitalization (first cabinet post)

Itō Yoshitaka (75), LDP, House of Representatives (Hokkaidō)

Minister for economic revitalization (first cabinet post)

Akazawa Ryōsei (63), LDP, House of Representatives (Tottori)

Minister for economic security (first cabinet post)

Kiuchi Minoru (59), LDP, House of Representatives (Shizuoka)

Minister of children’s policy (first cabinet post)

Mihara Junko (60), LDP, House of Councillors (Kanagawa)

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, at front center, poses for a commemorative photo with the members of his new cabinet at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on October 1, 2024. © Jiji.)