In a last-minute twist after initial reports hinted at only minor adjustments in his Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday replaced key figures while keeping a handful of veterans and rivals in their positions and boosting the female presence in the Cabinet and ruling party executive team.
Among the more stunning moves was Kishida’s decision to have former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa replace Yoshimasa Hayashi, a close ally of Kishida, as foreign minister, making Kamikawa just the third woman to hold the post of top diplomat after Makiko Tanaka and Yoriko Kawaguchi, who served under then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Kishida also tapped Minoru Kihara, a onetime aide to former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga, to be defense minister, replacing Yasukazu Hamada. The Cabinet post is the first for Kihara, who has recently been at the forefront of ruling-party discussions over a potential overhaul of guidelines de-facto banning the export of lethal weapons.
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