Japan’s new Cabinet includes a pro-Taiwan legislator as defense minister, as well as a record five women to serve in Cabinet positions. The former Cabinet held a ceremonial meeting on Wednesday in which they resigned en masse, followed by an announcement of the new Cabinet and party positions. Out of the 19 members of the Cabinet, 11 are new incomers.
Newly appointed defense minister Minoru Kihara is a member of a bipartisan parliamentary group that promotes Japan-Taiwan relations. Kihara visited Taiwan and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last August to discuss security issues.
The reshuffle comes ahead of an internal leadership election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) next year. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will need to survive the election to keep his post, though his approval ratings have remained at relatively low levels over the course of his nearly two-year premiership.
Among the new women Cabinet officials is foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa, a former justice minister. The number of women in Kishida’s Cabinet increased from two to five under the new lineup, which meets but does not exceed the record of women in the 2014 Abe Cabinet, and 2001 Kouzumi Cabinet.
LDP Vice President Taro Aso, who has also been an outspoken supporter of Taiwan and visited Taiwan just last month, was among those who kept their positions.