Cabinet Reshuffle Completed, Kishida To Hold Press Conference Tonight

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled his refreshed Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party executive line-up overnight, vowing that his team will "overcome difficulties as one". The double reshuffle offered no surprises as the details were gradually leaked to the media the day before. The new Cabinet will be officially inaugurated after a certification ceremony at the Imperial Palace. The Prime Minister will then hold a press conference at 11:00BST/19:00JST to explain the future direction of the revamped Cabinet.

• Jiji highlights the change in the seating arrangement in the House of Representatives, which is reflective of the hierarchy within the Cabinet. Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi will continue to occupy the seat to the left of the Prime Minister, reserved for the second most senior official. Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki will move to the seat to the right of the Premier, becoming an informal number 3, replacing former Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.
• The latest reshuffle of top Japanese officials was a bet on stability in some key areas, with Kishida keeping his core economic team unchanged and allowing most senior party executives to retain their positions. At the same time, however, he introduced eleven newcomers to the government, increased the number of women in his Cabinet to five from two and tapped Yuko Obuchi to become the LDP's election campaign czar. These changes seemingly constituted an attempt to freshen the ruling party's image - the inclusion of more women in the Cabinet helped boost the approval ratings of some former Prime Ministers, including Shinzo Abe.