Ishiba Makes Forced Changes to Cabinet After Election Losses

On November 11, 2024, Ishiba Shigeru was reelected as Japan’s prime minister in voting in the House of Representatives. A runoff was required after initial voting, as a diminished LDP/Kōmeitō coalition was short of the necessary majority in the chamber to ensure a first-round victory. The coalition will rule as a minority government.

Its poor election performance also led to two ministers losing their seats, forcing Ishiba to bring in Suzuki Keisuke as minister of justice and Etō Taku as minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, replacing Makihara Hideki and Ozato Yasuhiro, respectively. Kōmeitō’s leader Ishii Keiichi also lost his seat, and was replaced by Saitō Tetsuo, the minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism; Saitō resigned as minister, with Ishiba appointing Nakano Hiromasa, also of Kōmeitō, in his place. All other cabinet ministers were unchanged.

While the cabinet posts all remain in the hands of coalition party members, a number of key Diet committee chair posts have gone to politicians from the opposition, reflecting the new calculus in play in the chamber.

The full list of cabinet members is as follows. Ages are as of November 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)

Suzuki Keisuke (47), 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

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

Minister of health, labor, and welfare

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

Minister of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries

Etō Taku (64), LDP, House of Representatives (Miyazaki)

Minister of economy, trade, and industry

Mutō Yōji (69), LDP, House of Representatives (Gifu)

Minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism (first cabinet post)

Nakano Hiromasa (46), Kōmeitō, House of Representatives (Hyōgo)

Minister of the environment

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

Minister of defense

Nakatani Gen (67), LDP, House of Representatives (Kōchi)

Chief cabinet secretary, minister in charge of the abduction issue

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

Minister for digital transformation

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

Minister for reconstruction

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

Chair of the National Public Safety Commission

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

Minister of state for regional revitalization

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

Minister for economic revitalization

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

Minister for economic security

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

Minister of children’s policy

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 November 11, 2024. © Kyōdō.)