Takaichi Leans Conservative with Key Young Appointments, Limits Women to 2 Cabinet Positions

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, October 22, 2025

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi leaned conservative with her Cabinet appointments, choosing mid-career and young conservative lawmakers while limiting female representation to just two ministers.

She focused on maintaining harmony among factions within the Liberal Democratic Party. As a result, Takaichi’s ability to add her personal touch to the appointments was apparently limited.

Takaichi’s conservative leanings were evident in her promotion of particular individuals, such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara and Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda.

Kihara, who was close to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, previously held the position of special advisor to the prime minister in the fourth reshuffled Abe Cabinet.

Onoda, who was first elected under the Abe administration, is a notable young conservative. She will be responsible for policies toward foreigners, an issue that Takaichi considers important.

The LDP’s heavy electoral setbacks in the House of Representatives election last year and the House of Councillors election in July were believed to have stemmed from the alienation of its core conservative supporter base. These personal appointments are viewed as an effort to reengage such supporters.

The “responsible and aggressive fiscal policy” championed by Takaichi will be overseen by Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and growth strategy minister Minoru Kiuchi.

With the Japan Innovation Party newly joining the coalition, the new prime minister is considering reducing the consumption tax on food and beverages to 0% for a limited period of two years.

Given that many other economic policies will also require vast financial resources, Takaichi is expected to task Katayama and others with coordinating with the Finance Ministry, which emphasizes the importance of fiscal soundness.

The prime minister had expressed her intention to beat the record of five female ministers, aiming for a Cabinet with a high proportion of women. Ultimately, however, the only women in the new Cabinet were Katayama and Onoda.

The plan to increase female appointments was apparently put aside during Cabinet planning due to a relatively lower number of female LDP lawmakers to appoint to Cabinet positions, among other reasons, sources said.