Prime Minister Takaichi Mulls Adding Japan Innovation Party Leader to Cabinet

A senior source confirms that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi intends to include Hiroshi Nakatsuka, the secretary general of the Japan Innovation Party, in her cabinet during the reshuffle slated for Thursday. The junior coalition partner, based in Osaka, has so far cooperated from outside the cabinet since the coalition began in October 2025, making this a notable shift. In a related leadership shuffle, Takaichi has appointed former deputy chief Cabinet secretary Hideki Murai as the Liberal Democratic Party's Diet affairs chief, a role traditionally given to someone with cabinet experience.

Additionally, 63-year-old LDP lawmaker Toshiharu Furukawa, who holds qualifications as a surgeon and lawyer, is being considered for a ministerial portfolio. Takaichi spent roughly three hours at her official residence on Sunday reviewing the appointments with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara. Nakatsuka, a former Osaka prefectural assembly member and mayor of Hirakata, has served as party secretary general since August 2025 and is seen as a steady communicator for the coalition. The reshuffle also leaves Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in place, while the future of internal affairs minister Yoshimasa Hayashi remains uncertain.