Young LDP Members Express Outrage Over Japan Innovation Party’s Demand for “1 Minister, 2 Deputy Ministers, and 3 Parliamentary Secretaries” in Cabinet Reshuffle

The Takashi administration’s reliance on the Japan Innovation Party and friction within the LDP

“Wait, where did my Akita dog go?”

When Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (65) muttered this, staff at the Prime Minister’s Office hurriedly ran off to look for a certain male lawmaker—

The person referred to as the “Akita dog” by the prime minister is Kei Endo (58), a prime ministerial advisor and chair of the Japan Innovation Party’s Diet Affairs Committee.Mr. Endo also serves as chairman of the Akita Dog Preservation Society and has presented figure skater Alina Zagitova (24) with an Akita dog named “MASARU.” It is said that Prime Minister Takaichi affectionately calls him “Akita dog.”

Since last October, the Liberal Democratic Party and The Japan Innovation Party have formed a coalition government. Mr. Endo is one of the key figures behind this alliance and enjoys Ms. Takaichi’s deep trust. Mr. Endo himself comments:

“It seems she calls me that when I’m not around, but since it’s true, it doesn’t bother me. I’m actually impressed by how amusing the Prime Minister’s choice of words is.”

Just as this influential Ishin lawmaker laughs off being treated like a loyal dog, the honeymoon period between the Takaichi administration and the Japan Innovation Party continues to deepen. One factor behind this is the cabinet reshuffle and party leadership appointments scheduled for mid-September.

Vice President Taro Aso (85),Secretary-General Shun’ichi Suzuki (73), Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (57), Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi (45), Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (67), and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (70) are all expected to remain in their posts, preserving the backbone of the administration.Attention is also focused on the fate of Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Yoshimasa Hayashi (65), who is at odds with Ms. Takaichi, and House of Councillors Secretary-General Junichi Ishii (68); however, this cabinet reshuffle is proceeding with the Japan Innovation Party, a coalition partner, set to appoint its first cabinet minister.

“1, 2, 3”

These consecutive numbers represent the number of cabinet posts requested by the Japan Innovation Party. The breakdown is expected to be “1 minister, 2 vice ministers, and 3 parliamentary secretaries.”

When the coalition government was formed last October, in response to a request from Ms. Takaichi that “we share responsibility for the cabinet,” the Japan Innovation Party opted for “cooperation from outside the cabinet” and refrained from having its members serve as ministers, vice ministers, or parliamentary secretaries.However, this time the party has shifted its stance to “cooperation from within the cabinet,” and it is expected that Secretary-General Hiroshi Nakatsuka (70) will be selected for a ministerial post.

However, this decision is causing ripples within the LDP.

“Among young LDP lawmakers, dissatisfaction is mounting over the preferential treatment given to the Japan Innovation Party.Although bills related to the ‘Second Capital Concept’ were passed during the recent extraordinary session of the Diet, the benefits for national politics are meager. The Japan Innovation Party is the only party insisting on passing the bill to reduce the number of Diet seats; the opposition parties are pushing back, and the more the Diet’s operations accommodate the Japan Innovation Party’s wishes, the more difficult it becomes to manage the Diet.

However, for Ms. Takaichi, whose base within the party is unstable, the Japan Innovation Party serves as a sort of ‘faction’ supporting her, alongside the Aso faction; if Japan Innovation Party lawmakers assume key positions, that relationship will become even stronger.

“The Aso faction is being given preferential treatment, and the LDP’s quota for cabinet positions in the House of Councillors is likely to be maintained. If posts such as vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries are also allocated to the Japan Innovation Party, it will become even more difficult for young LDP members to secure those positions,” said a veteran LDP secretary.

Different from Komeito… Growing Distrust of the Japan Innovation Party Within the LDP

The Komeito Party, our former coalition partner, had settled on “one minister, three vice ministers, and three parliamentary secretaries.” Since the Japan Innovation Party has more lawmakers, I don’t think it’s fair to call this an “unreasonable demand” as long as we’re coalition partners, but in reality, the implications seem to differ between Komeito and the Japan Innovation Party.

“The Komeito provided electoral cooperation. While they’re now little more than a paper tiger, they were said to bring in as many as 20,000 votes per single-member district—and if we asked them to put up posters, make phone calls, or mobilize supporters at rallies, they’d bring people out. Of course, we bought the Komeito Shimbun and Seikyo Shimbun by the hundred, but they were a reliable ally during elections.

On the other hand, the Japan Innovation Party does not cooperate in elections; in fact, in some districts, they are rival candidates. It would be a nightmare if a Japan Innovation Party lawmaker from my district were to be appointed as a vice minister or parliamentary secretary,” said the secretary.

The Japan Innovation Party also has strong conservative leanings and advocates for measures such as the introduction of nuclear submarines. There is concern that if members of the Japan Innovation Party join the cabinet, the government’s “hawkish” stance will intensify. Another source of anxiety is that, with the exception of former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara (64), almost none of the lawmakers have experience serving in the ruling party.

“The debating skills of most lawmakers are an unknown quantity. While they may be able to deliver sharp, incisive rebuttals when in the opposition, the ability to deflect questions with diplomatic evasiveness becomes essential once they become cabinet ministers. If a Japan Innovation Party cabinet minister makes a statement in the Diet that contradicts government policy, it will be viewed as a rift within the cabinet.In fact, during the Extraordinary Diet session, House of Representatives member Keishi Abe (40), as the sponsor of the bill on the crime of desecrating the national flag, gave a response contradicting the LDP’s position—stating that the bill would ‘contribute to fostering patriotism’—and refused to retract it,” said a political reporter for a national newspaper.

The emergence of scandals involving cabinet members is another cause for concern. It has come to light that a local assembly member from the Japan Innovation Party engaged in “National Health Insurance evasion”—taking a position as chairperson of a general incorporated association to avoid paying high National Health Insurance premiums, thereby enrolling in social insurance to reduce the burden of premiums.If a scandal were to emerge involving one of the three senior political officials, it would also affect Ms. Takaichi, who appointed them.

“The National Intelligence Service (formerly the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office) is going around to offices in the Diet Members’ Building, asking, ‘Have you heard any rumors of power harassment involving young Japan Innovation Party lawmakers?’ to investigate whether any scandals exist. While this likely serves as a ‘background check’ prior to cabinet appointment, it seems they haven’t yet grasped the full reality of the situation regarding the party’s young lawmakers,” said the same secretary.

Although Ms. Takaichi and her Akita dog are close, a scandal involving a prominent Japan Innovation Party lawmaker could damage the Takaichi administration. Even without any scandals, it is certain that dissatisfaction will build within the LDP if the Japan Innovation Party is given preferential treatment. The political landscape will shift again following the personnel reshuffle this fall.