New LDP Head Takaichi Announces Key Positions, with Aso Faction Members Taking Precedent

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:30 JST, October 7, 2025

New Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi officially announced her executive appointments at a General Council meeting Tuesday, establishing a new leadership that favors the faction of former Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Placing members from the Aso faction at the core is intended to stabilize the party’s internal base.

Ahead of the extraordinary Diet session likely to be convened in the middle of this month, Takaichi will consider potential cabinet appointees and accelerate cooperation talks with opposition parties.

“I want to transform the anxieties people have about their current lives and the future into hopes and dreams,” Takaichi said, at the opening of the General Council meeting held at the party’s headquarters.

Takaichi appointed Shunichi Suzuki, the 72-year-old former chair of the LDP’s General Council, as secretary general to oversee party affairs.

She also appointed Haruko Arimura, 55, a former minister in charge of women’s empowerment, as chairperson of the General Council; Takayuki Kobayashi, 50, a former economic security minister, as chief of the party’s Policy Research Council; and Keiji Furuya, 72, a former chair of the National Public Safety Commission, as chairperson of the Election Strategy Committee.

Aso, 85, was appointed vice president of the party.

Suzuki, an 11-term veteran representing Iwate Constituency No. 2 of the House of Representatives, has held key posts in both the party and the government, including finance minister.

As a member of the Aso faction, he is expected to play a role in stabilizing party management alongside Aso by leveraging the faction’s solidarity.

Arimura, also a member of the Aso faction, has been elected to the House of Councillors five times in the proportional representation segment. She has served in several posts, including as chairperson of the Joint Plenary Meeting of Party Members of Both Houses of the Diet.

Her appointment as chairperson of the General Council is a first for an upper house member.

Kobayashi, who has been elected to the Diet five times and represents Chiba Constituency No. 2 of the lower house, is known as a mid-career policy expert. He was also a candidate in the LDP presidential election held Saturday that Takaichi ultimately won.

Furuya, a 12-term veteran elected from the Gifu Constituency No. 5 of the lower house, is known for his conservative political stance and holds views that align closely with Takaichi’s.

He has served as chairperson of the Election Strategy Committee before, in addition to posts such as minister in charge of the abduction issue.

After the General Council meeting, the four newly appointed key party executives held a press conference.

“The environment surrounding the party is very challenging. We must listen carefully to the opposition parties’ opinions and work to solve issues while maintaining political stability,” Suzuki said.

Kobayashi said the LDP must sincerely accept the results of July’s upper house election and emphasized his intention to address rising prices.

As the ruling coalition of the LDP and junior partner Komeito is a minority in both houses of the Diet, cooperation with the opposition parties is essential for the extraordinary session, in which the fiscal 2025 supplementary budget bill and other measures are hoped to be passed.

The new leadership aims to accelerate policy discussions with opposition parties, with an eye toward expanding the coalition government framework. The focus now is on whether talks with the Democratic Party for the People will progress.