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Takaichi’s leadership lineup favors Aso and his allies while shutting out rivals

Newly elected Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi announced her party leadership lineup Tuesday, entrusting members of a faction led by former Prime Minister Taro Aso with key positions, while excluding her election rival farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his allies close to former Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba.
Takaichi replaced Suga with the 85-year-old Aso as the party’s vice president, the position he held under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Takaichi named the party’s former general council affairs chair Shunichi Suzuki as secretary-general, the party’s No. 2. The eldest son of former Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki and Aso’s brother-in-law, the 72-year-old Suzuki will be in charge of the LDP’s overall operations.

The chair of the party’s decision-making general affairs council was replaced by another Aso faction member, Haruko Arimura, 55, who endorsed Takaichi’s bid for the LDP presidency.

“The lawmakers’ votes were neck and neck in the presidential election, but I believe that party unity is important,” Suzuki told a news conference after his appointment, adding that he will seek to listen to opposition parties to achieve political stability amid a minority government.

The new lineup also reflects Takaichi’s desire to reward allies of the party’s former Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi. After losing the first round, they shifted to supporting Takaichi in the runoff. Kobayashi — the presidential election’s fourth finisher — will chair the party’s policy committee.

Besides these key posts, former internal affairs minister Yoshitaka Shindo, 67, was named chairperson of the party’s organization and campaign headquarters, while former vice foreign minister Takako Suzuki, 39, was appointed to chair the party’s public relations headquarters.

During his campaign for LDP president, Kobayashi’s policy proposals underscored his commitment to lowering the income tax, making Japan a technology powerhouse again and boosting defense spending.

“I’d like to tackle the inflation we see before us and protect people’s lives and jobs from tariffs,” said Kobayashi.

Keiji Furuya, 72, who endorsed Takaichi’s bid, has assumed the role of chairman of the election committee, a role that will see him act as the party’s face during elections.

Hiroshi Kajiyama, 69, will be the party’s new parliamentary affairs chief. This will put him in charge of establishing agreement on legislation with coalition partner Komeito, which is ideologically at odds with Takaichi, and with the opposition parties the LDP seeks to work with in order to pass legislation.

“I’ll do my best to turn anxieties about the present and future into hopes and dreams. I wholeheartedly ask for your guidance and support,” Takaichi said at a meeting of the party’s general affairs council Tuesday morning.

But her inclusion of a lawmaker who was involved in the LDP’s slush fund scandal indicates that the party is off to a rocky start.

Takaichi gave the role of Acting Secretary-General to Koichi Hagiuda — a Lower House lawmaker who failed to report ¥27,280,000 in political funds between 2018 and 2022. He was given a one-year suspension by the LDP last April and was re-elected in last October’s Lower House race.

His secretary, however, was indicted in August, fined ¥300,000 and given a three-year suspension by the Tokyo Summary Court, raising questions of whether voters would still see Hagiuda as fit for office in the next election.

“Voters have already made their judgment on Hagiuda. This is a major thing,” said Shunichi Suzuki, adding that the LDP will continue to work to regain the public’s trust.

Opposition parties are already concerned that Aso will be Takaichi’s puppet master.

During a Sunday speech in Fukuoka, main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda asked if Takaichi will be able to move forward while “constantly worrying about the bigwigs behind her.”

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