Takaichi Reshuffles Cabinet, Keeps Economic Team Ahead of 0.25-Point BOJ Move
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Sep 17
Takaichi Reshuffles Cabinet, Keeps Economic Team Ahead of 0.25-Point BOJ Move
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Sep 17
Summary
Sanae Takaichi kept finance minister Satsuki Katayama, fiscal policy minister Minoru Kiuchi and trade minister Ryosei Akazawa in her first cabinet reshuffle since taking office last October.
The move, announced a day before the Bank of Japan is expected to raise rates by 0.25 percentage point, signals continuity on stimulatory spending and tax cuts despite market pressure.
Yields on Japan’s 10-year government bond are already at a 30-year high of 3%, reflecting investor unease over Takaichi’s flagship spending plans and food tax-cut proposal.
Yoshimasa Hayashi was the most prominent minister dropped, removing an LDP heavyweight who could challenge Takaichi again in the party’s 2027 leadership race.
Akazawa’s retention also preserves Japan’s channel with Washington after he struck a tariff deal tied to a $550 billion Japanese investment pledge in the US.