Koizumi and his new cabinet. (Cabinet Office)

On September 30, Prime Minister Jun'ichiro Koizumi carried out the first reshuffle of his cabinet since the launch of his administration in April 2001. Six of the 17 ministers (excluding the prime minister) in the previous cabinet left their posts. State Minister in Charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy Heizo Takenaka has assumed a dual role, also taking responsibility for the stability of Japan's financial system as State Minister in Charge of Financial Services. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister of Finance Masajuro Shiokawa, and Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Takeo Hiranuma retain their posts.

Pushing Ahead with Reform
At a press conference following the launch of his new cabinet, the prime minister explained that he had carried out the reshuffle "in order to advance and accelerate structural reform even more firmly." Setting out the major objectives of his administration, Koizumi expressed his determination to conclude the disposal of nonperforming loans in fiscal 2004 (April 2004 to March 2005), to ensure peace and stability by emphasizing international cooperation, and to push ahead with reform of the public sector. He said: "In order to convince people and markets at home and abroad that the government and the Bank of Japan are together making full-fledged efforts to dispose of nonperforming loans, I think it is easier to understand if one minister takes charge both of economic and fiscal policy and of financial services."

The new entrants to the cabinet are Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Tadamori Oshima; Minister of the Environment Shun'ichi Suzuki; Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission Sadakazu Tanigaki; State Minister in Charge of Defense Shigeru Ishiba; State Minister in Charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs and Science and Technology Policy Hiroyuki Hosoda; and State Minister in Charge of Disaster Management and Special Zones for Structural Reform Yoshitada Konoike.

Members of the new Koizumi cabinet are listed below (the names of the ministers are followed by their age, party affiliation, house membership, and major posts held to date):

Prime Minister
Jun'ichiro Koizumi (60, Liberal Democratic Party)
Ten-term member of the House of Representatives; Minister of Health and Welfare; Minister of Posts and Telecommunications; Chairman, Committee on Finance, the House of Representatives.

Minister for Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts, and Telecommunications
Toranosuke Katayama (67, LDP)
Three-term member of the House of Councillors; Parliamentary Vice Minister of Finance; Chairman, LDP Diet Affairs Committee in the House of Councillors.

Minister of Justice
Mayumi Moriyama (74, LDP)
Two-term member of the House of Representatives and three-term member of the House of Councillors; Minister of Education; Chief Cabinet Secretary (Minister of State); Director-General of the Environment Agency (Minister of State).

Minister for Foreign Affairs
Yoriko Kawaguchi (61)
Former bureaucrat, Ministry of International Trade and Industry; Minister of the Environment; Managing Director, Suntory Ltd.

Minister of Finance
Masajuro Shiokawa (80, LDP)
Eleven-term member of the House of Representatives; Minister of Home Affairs; Chief Cabinet Secretary (Minister of State); Minister of Education; Minister of Transport.

Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology
Atsuko Toyama (63)
President, Independent Administrative Institution National Museum of Art; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Japan in Turkey; Commissioner, Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare
Chikara Sakaguchi (68, New Komeito)
Eight-term member of the House of Representatives; Minister of Labor; Vice Representative, New Komeito.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
Tadamori Oshima (56, LDP)
Six-term member of the House of Representatives; Chairman, LDP Diet Affairs Committee; Minister of Education and Director General, Science and Technology Agency (Minister of State); Director General, Environment Agency (Minister of State).

Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry
Takeo Hiranuma (63, LDP)
Seven-term member of the House of Representatives; Chairman, Standing Committee on Rules and Administration, HR; Minister of Transport.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport
Chikage Ogi (69, New Conservative Party)
Five-term member of the House of Councillors; Director-General of the National Land Agency (Minister of State) and Minister of Construction; Chair of the Standing Committee on Education, Culture, and Science; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Science and Technology.

Minister of the Environment
Shun'ichi Suzuki (49, LDP)
Four-term member of the House of Representatives; LDP Deputy Secretary-General; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Health and Welfare.

Chief Cabinet Secretary
State Minister for Gender Equality
Yasuo Fukuda (66, LDP)
Four-term member of the House of Representatives; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs; Chairman of the Finance Committee, LDP.

Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission
State Minister in Charge of the Food Safety Commission and Related Matters
Sadakazu Tanigaki (57, LDP)
Seven-term member of the House of Representatives; Chairman, Financial Reconstruction Commission (State Minister); Director-General, Science and Technology Agency (State Minister).

State Minister in Charge of Defense
Shigeru Ishiba (45, LDP)
Five-term member of the House of Representatives; Senior Vice Minister for Defense; Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

State Minister in Charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs and Science and Technology Policy
Hiroyuki Hosoda (58, LDP)
Four-term member of the House of Representatives; Director-General, LDP Election Bureau; Senior Parliamentary Vice-Minister of International Trade and Industry.

State Minister in Charge of Financial Services and Economic and Fiscal Policy
Heizo Takenaka (51)
Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University; Member, Economic Strategy Council (The Advisory Body of ex-prime minister Obuchi).

State Minister in Charge of Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform
Nobuteru Ishihara (45, LDP)
Four-term member of the House of Representatives; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Trade and Industry.

State Minister in Charge of Disaster Management and Special Zones for Structural Reform
Yoshitada Konoike (61, LDP)
Two-term member of the House of Representatives and two-term member of the House of Councillors; Chairman, LDP Diet Affairs Committee in the House of Councillors.