Prime Minister Takaichi likely to keep Defense Minister Koizumi in upcoming reshuffle

Sources close to the administration say Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to keep Shinjiro Koizumi as defense minister when she announces a cabinet and party-leadership reshuffle later this month. The move aims to preserve continuity while Japan works to revise its three principal security documents before the end of the year. Koizumi, 45, the son of ex-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, has twice vied for the Liberal Democratic Party’s top post, losing to Takaichi in a 2025 runoff, and remains well liked by voters.

Takaichi is also considering Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister and current LDP policy chief, for a key portfolio such as economic revitalisation or industry. The prime minister is believed to be positioning rivals in prominent posts ahead of next autumn’s party presidential election, while retaining foreign affairs minister Toshimitsu Motegi and possibly finance minister Satsuki Katayama to ensure stability for upcoming legislation on consumption-tax cuts and security reforms.