Japan’s incoming PM Ishiba fills posts after close leadership race

September 30

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s incoming prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, will fill key party posts on Monday followed by a new Cabinet on Tuesday as he tries to unite his party after one of the ruling LDP’s closest ever leadership races and ahead of a general election.

Among Ishiba’s key picks so far are two rival candidates in the leadership race, Katsunobu Kato as finance minister and Yoshimasa Hayashi to stay on as chief cabinet secretary, a pivotal post that includes the role of top government spokesman, sources earlier told Reuters.

Japanese shares fell more than 4% on Monday as the yen strengthened in reaction to the leadership victory by Ishiba, who is seen as a monetary policy hawk.

A close Ishiba ally, Takeshi Iwaya, a former defence chief, will take over as foreign ministers, while Gen Nakatani will return to the defence ministry, a position he held in 2016, a source familiar with the appointments said, confirming earlier media reports.

Absent, however, from picks so far reported in local media is Sanae Takaichi, the hardline conservative he beat by 215 votes to 194 on Friday in the closest leadership election in almost seven decades.

Takaichi’s exclusion could make it difficult for Ishiba to manage a fractious ruling group roiled by scandals that have sapped its public support.

In a televised interview on Sunday, Ishiba did not discuss his cabinet appointments, but suggested he may call a general election as early as October. A poll must be held within the next 13 months.

Another rival, Shinjiro Koizumi, who has called for a snap election, will be his election campaign chief, according to a local media report. Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who backed Koizumi, will be his party vice president, the sources said.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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