Japanese prime minister plans cabinet and party executive reshuffle by mid-September

Sources close to the government report that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to restructure both her cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party’s executive lineup, with the earliest date being September 16. She is expected to request the party’s executive committee’s consent on September 15, after which senior vice-ministerial and parliamentary vice-ministerial appointments will be made between September 16 and 18. The reshuffle aims to give the administration breathing room before an extraordinary session of parliament that the ruling bloc plans for early October.

It follows the anticipated Cabinet endorsement of a consumption-tax reform that would reduce the rate on food and beverages from 8 percent to 1 percent for two years beginning next April. Should the tax bill be postponed, the personnel changes may be delayed until after Takaichi’s scheduled visit to the United States to attend the UN General Assembly’s general debate later in the month.