Second Kishida Cabinet (Reshuffled)

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Second Kishida Cabinet (Reshuffled)
Flag of Japan.svg
101st Cabinet of Japan
Fumio Kishida Cabinet 20220810.jpg
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (front row, centre) with the newly-formed cabinet inside the Kantei, 10 August 2022
Date formed10 August 2022
People and organisations
Emperor Naruhito
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Prime Minister's historyMember of the HoR for Hiroshima 1st district (1993-)
Former Foreign Minister (2012-2017)
Former acting Minister of Defense (2017)
No. of ministers20 (2022-)
Member party  Liberal Democratic
  Komeito Coalition
Status in legislature HoR (Lower):
LDP-K Coalition majority
293 / 465(63%)

HoC (Upper):
LDP-K Coalition majority
142 / 245(58%)
Opposition party  Constitutional Democratic Party
Opposition leader Kenta Izumi (2021-present)
History
Election(s) 2021/49th HoR general election
2022/26th HoC regular election
Legislature term(s)206th– National Diet
(49th HoR, 25th– HoC)
Predecessor Second Kishida Cabinet

The Second Kishida Cabinet (Reshuffled) is the 101st Cabinet of Japan and was formed by Fumio Kishida, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Japan in August 2022. The cabinet has governed Japan since 10 August 2022.

Contents

The government is a coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito and controls both the upper and lower houses of the National Diet. It succeeded the Second Kishida Cabinet on 10 August 2022. [1] The Reshuffled 101st Cabinet was formed following the assassination of Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister, which caused low approval ratings due to alleged ties to the Unification Church. [2]

Background

Announcement

On 6 August 2022 in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced his decision to reshuffle his second cabinet on 10 August, after attending the 77th anniversary memorial ceremony of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by American jet. The reshuffle had previously been planned for early September 2022. Since the end of COVID-19 pandemic in Japan by October 2021, Kishida explained that the purpose of the reshuffle was to focus on issues like the assassination of Shinzo Abe, as well as the climate change, global inflation, war in Ukraine, and Taiwan Strait tensions. [3]

Controversies between Abe and the Unification Church

The reshuffle was widely reported as a response to the local criticism of ties between Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church (UC), following the assassination of the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on 8 July 2022. [3] [4] The suspected shooter, Tetsuya Yamagami, revealed that his mother went bankrupt for donating most of the family's wealth and assets to the UC. Although the suspect originally planned to target the leader of the UC, Hak Ja Han, he switched to Abe because he was unable to approach Han, and he considered Abe as one of the most influential supporters of the UC. [5] The revelation renewed local interest in the allegedly long-standing relationship between the LDP and the UC since Abe's maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi's tenure, [6] as well as accusations against the UC's practices of collecting donations fraudulently, so-called "spiritual sales". [7] Public opinions on Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe on 27 September were also divided. [8] [9]

According to a poll conducted by NHK from 5 to 7 August, the approval rating of Kishida's previous cabinet was 46%, down by 13% from a similar poll taken three weeks prior. Also 82% of respondents were not satisfied by the lawmakers' explanations of their ties to the UC. [10]

Kishida's responses regarding the Unification Church

Kishida stressed that the new cabinet would have all members closely examined with regard to their relationship with the UC, [3] but media reported that at least 30 members in the reshuffled cabinet were still related to the UC to various degrees. [11] One of the ministers who remained in office after this reshuffle, Daishiro Yamagiwa, received media scrutiny in particular for not disclosing his ties with the UC to the public before the reshuffle, as well as his ambiguous responses when being confronted by reporters about his ties to the UC. [12] Kishida accepted Yamagiwa's resignation on 24 October 2022 as the minister [13] following more evidences of Yamagiwa's ties to the UC surfaced and intense criticisms from the opposition parties in the parliament for his failure to remember his participation in events held by the UC and meetings with top UC officials, including the UC leader Hak Ja Han. [14]

After the cabinet reshuffle, a poll conducted from 20 to 21 August by Mainichi Shimbun showed that the approval rating of the new cabinet dropped to 36% by 16%, with 64% of respondents viewing the ties to the UC as a very serious problem. [15]

Kishida promised to cut ties with the UC [16] and help victims of manipulative sales by the UC. [17] Taro Kono, the minister of digital affairs who was also given the special mission for consumer affairs and food safety, established a spiritual sales review committee in the Consumer Affairs Agency on 29 August. This committee initially elected 8 experts in the UC matter including former prosecutor Shiori Kanno and Masaki Kito, a lawyer representing the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales which has been providing legal aid for victims and reporting on the anti-social issues of the UC since 1987. [18] The committee was scheduled to hold publicly-viewable weekly online meetings. All committee members offered suggestions for strengthening regulations or enacting preventive measures against spiritual sales. [19]

Increase in military budget

In December 2022 the Kishida government announced a $320bn increase in military spending, due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. [20] [21]

Election of the Prime Minister

List of Ministers

Parties
Liberal Democratic
Komeito
RMember of the House of Representatives
CMember of the House of Councillors
BBureaucrat

Cabinet

Citation of this table: List of Second Kishida Cabinet (Reshuffled) Members [23]

Second Kishida Cabinet (Reshuffled)
PortfolioImageMinisterTermNote
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida 20211005 election infobox.jpg Fumio Kishida R4 October 2021 – Present
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications 20211203terada minoru.jpg Minoru Terada R10 August 2022 – 20 November 2022 [24]
Takeaki Matsumoto 20120603 (cropped 2).jpg Takeaki Matsumoto R21 November 2022 – Present [25]
Minister of Justice Yasuhiro Hanashi.jpg Yasuhiro Hanashi R10 August 2022 – 11 November 2022
Ken Saito 20221111 (cropped).png Ken Saitō R11 November 2022 – Present [26]
Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi 20211118 (cropped).jpg Yoshimasa Hayashi R10 November 2021 – Present [27]
Minister of Finance
Minister of State for Financial Services
Minister in charge of Overcoming Deflation
Shunichi Suzuki 20211004 (cropped).jpg Shun'ichi Suzuki R4 October 2021 – Present
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Minister in charge of Education Rebuilding
Keiko Nagaoka 2022.jpg Keiko Nagaoka R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Katsunobu Kato 20201017 (cropped) (2).jpg Katsunobu Kato R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tetsuro Nomura 20220810 (cropped 2).jpg Tetsuro Nomura C10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness
Minister for Economic Cooperation with Russia
Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Accident
Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation
Yasutoshi Nishimura 20190911.jpg Yasutoshi Nishimura R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Minister in charge of Water Cycle Policy
Minister for the World Horticultural Exhibition Yokohama 2027
Tetsuo Saito 20211004 (cropped).jpg Tetsuo Saito R4 October 2021 – Present
Minister of the Environment
Minister of State for Nuclear Emergency Preparedness
Akihiro Nishimura 20120612 (cropped).jpg Akihiro Nishimura R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of Defense Yasukazu Hamada 20220810.jpg Yasukazu Hamada R10 August 2022 – Present
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Minister in charge of Mitigating the Impact of U.S. Forces in Okinawa
Minister in charge of the Abductions Issue
Minister in Charge of Promoting Vaccinations
Hirokazu Matsuno 20211004 (cropped).jpg Hirokazu Matsuno R4 October 2021 – Present
Minister for Digital
Minister of State for Digital Reform
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety
Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform
Taro Kono 20100712 (cropped 2).jpg Taro Kono R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of Reconstruction
Minister in charge of Comprehensive Policy Coordination for Revival from the Nuclear Accident at Fukushima
Akiba kenya.jpg Kenya Akiba R10 August 2022 – 27 December 2022 [28]
Hiromichi Watanabe.jpg Hiromichi Watanabe R27 December 2022 – Present
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission
Minister in charge of Building National Resilience
Minister in charge of Territorial Issues
Minister in charge of Civil Service Reform
Minister of State for Disaster Management and Ocean Policy
Koichi Tani 20220810.jpg Koichi Tani R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister in charge of Policies Related to Children
Minister in charge of Cohesive Society
Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment
Minister in charge of Measures for Loneliness and Isolation
Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate
Minister of State for Gender Equality
Masanobu Ogura 20210930 (cropped).jpg Masanobu Ogura R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization
Minister in charge of New Capitalism
Minister in charge of Startups
Minister in charge of Measures for Novel Coronavirus Disease and Health Crisis Management
Minister in charge of Social Security Reform
Daishiro Yamagiwa 20211004.png Daishiro Yamagiwa R10 August 2022 – 25 October 2022
Shigeyuki Goto 20160328 (cropped).jpg Shigeyuki Goto R25 October 2022 – Present [29]
Minister in charge of Economic Security
Minister of State for Intellectual Property Strategy
Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy
Minister of State for Space Policy
Minister of State for Economic Security
Sanae Takaichi 20190617.jpg Sanae Takaichi R10 August 2022 – Present
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs
Minister of State for Regional Revitalization
Minister of State for Regulatory Reform
Minister of State for "Cool Japan" Strategy
Minister of State for Ainu-Related Policies
Minister in charge of Digital Garden City Nation Vision
Minister for the World Expo 2025
Minister in charge of Administrative Reform
Naoki Okada 20220817 (cropped 2).jpg Naoki Okada C10 August 2022 – Present

Changes

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau

PortfolioimageDeputy MinisterTermNote
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary 20211004kihara seiji.jpg Seiji Kihara R4 October 2021 – Present
20211004 Isozaki Yoshihiko.jpg Yoshihiko Isozaki C4 October 2021 – Present
Shun'ichi Kuryu 20211011.jpg Shun'ichi Kuryu B4 October 2021 – Presentformer: National Police Agency
Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau Masaharu Kondo cropped 1 Masaharu Kondo 201909.jpg Masaharu Kondo B11 September 2019 – Presentformer: the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

Special Adviser to the Prime Minister

PortfolioimageAdviserTermNote
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for National Security Important Policies, Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues Nobuo Kishi 20141116.jpg Nobuo Kishi R10 August 2022 – 3 February 2023
20211004kihara seiji.jpg Seiji Kihara R3 February 2023 – Present
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for International Human Rights Problems Nakatani Gen 2008.jpg Gen Nakatani R10 November 2021 – Present
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Domestic Economic and other special issues Hideki Murai 2021.jpg Hideki Murai R8 October 2021 – Present
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for Women's Empowerment and LGBT rights Masako Mori 20211112.jpg Masako Mori C10 November 2021 – Present
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister for social infrastructure development such as national resilience and reconstruction, science and technology innovation policy and other special assignments 20220101mori masafumi.jpg Masafumi MoriB10 August 2022 – Present

State Ministers

State Ministers [30]
PortfolioState MinisterTermNote
State Minister of Digital AgencyMasaki ŌgushiR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Cabinet Office
State Minister for Reconstruction Toshifumi KojimaR12 August 2022 – Present
Toshiko Takeya C12 August 2022 – Present
Hiroo Ishii C12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the State Minister of Cabinet Office
State Minister of Cabinet OfficeMasaki ŌgushiR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Digital Agency
Satoshi FujimaruR12 August 2022 – Present
Tsuyoshi HoshinoR12 August 2022 – Present
Yoshiaki Wada R12 August 2022 – Present
Shin'ichi IsaR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare
Shin'ichi NakataniR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Fusae Ohta C12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Hiroo IshiiC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the State Minister for Reconstruction
Shigeki KobayashiR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Environment
Toshirō InoR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Defense
State Minister for Internal Affairs and CommunicationsAsako OmiR12 August 2022 – Present
Yoshifumi TsugeC12 August 2022 – Present
State Minister of JusticeHiroaki KadoyamaR12 August 2022 – Present
State Minister for Foreign AffairsShunsuke TakeiR12 August 2022 – Present
Kenji YamadaR12 August 2022 – Present
State Minister of FinanceTakahiro InoueR12 August 2022 – Present
Kōzō Akino C12 August 2022 – Present
State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and TechnologyYōsei IdeR12 August 2022 – Present
Kazuo YanaR12 August 2022 – Present
State Minister of Health, Labour and WelfareShun HanyūdaC12 August 2022 – Present
Shin'ichi IsaR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Cabinet Office
State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and FisheriesTakaaki KatsumataR12 August 2022 – Present
Atsushi Nonaka R12 August 2022 – Present
State Minister of Economy, Trade and IndustryShin'ichi NakataniR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Cabinet Office
Fusae Ohta C12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Cabinet Office
State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and TourismToshirō ToyodaC12 August 2022 – Present
Hiroo IshiiC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister for Reconstruction and the State Minister of Cabinet Office
State Minister of Environment Miki Yamada R12 August 2022 – Present
Shigeki KobayashiR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Cabinet Office
State Minister of DefenseToshirō InoR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the State Minister of Cabinet Office

Parliamentary Vice-Ministers

Parliamentary Vice-Ministers [30]
PortfolioParliamentary Vice-MinisterTermNote
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Digital Agency Masanao Ozaki R12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for ReconstructionHideyuki NakanoR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Sakon Yamamoto R12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Ryūji SatomiC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Shōji NishidaR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office Masanao Ozaki R12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Digital Agency
Eikei SuzukiR12 August 2022 – Present
Hanako JimiC12 August 2022 – Present
Hideyuki NakanoR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction
Akiko HondaC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare
Makoto NagamineC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
Ryūji SatomiC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction
Shōji NishidaR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction
Akira YanagimotoR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Environment
Jirō KimuraR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs and CommunicationsAyano KunimitsuR12 August 2022 – Present
Mio Sugita R12 August 2022 – 27 December 2022
Junji HasegawaR27 December 2022 – Present
Takamoto NakagawaR12 August 2022 – Present
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of JusticeYasuhiro TakamiR12 August 2022 – Present
Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masatoshi Akimoto R12 August 2022 –
4 August 2023
Kei TakagiR12 August 2022 – Present
Yūmi YoshikawaC12 August 2022 – Present
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of FinanceShunpei KanekoR12 August 2022 – Present
Shūji MiyamotoC12 August 2022 – Present
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Takae Itō C12 August 2022 – Present
Sakon Yamamoto R12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Health, Labour and WelfareShōgo AzemotoR12 August 2022 – Present
Akiko HondaC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and FisheriesHideo TsunodaR12 August 2022 – Present
Shin'ya FujikiC12 August 2022 – Present
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and IndustryMakoto NagamineC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Ryūji SatomiC12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Reconstruction and the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yasushi Furukawa R12 August 2022 – Present
Masato Shimizu C12 August 2022 – Present
Shōji NishidaR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of for Reconstruction and the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of EnvironmentIsato KunisadaR12 August 2022 – Present
Akira YanagimotoR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office
Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense Kimi Onoda C12 August 2022 – Present
Jirō KimuraR12 August 2022 – Presentalso serves as the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Cabinet Office

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