New Cabinet State Ministers and Affiliations

Vice Ministers

On October 2, 2018, Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet. Of the 25 State Ministers in his Fifth Cabinet, six (24%) were reappointed from the previous Cabinet and 19 (76%) are new. Tsukasa AKIMOTO previously a State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, was re-appointed as the State Minister of the Environment. 

Most the State Ministers are conservative nationalists. The usual metric is memberships or affiliations with various Diet Leagues, especially the Diet Members’ League for the Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership [Shinto League] (also can be translated as Shinto Political Alliance Diet Member’s Roundtable; 神道政治連盟国会議員懇談会-Shintou seiji renmei kokkai giin kondankai) and the Diet Members’ Gathering (League) for the Japan Conference, [Nippon Kaigi] (also can be translated as Diet Representative ‘Japan Conference’ Roundtable;日本会議国会議員懇談会- Nippon kaigi kokkai giin kondankai). 

Both organizations advocate revising the constitution to return Shinto as the state religion and the Emperor to political power. They oppose the current Constitution support of individual rights, women's rights, and freedom of speech. They advocate a moral education and respect for Japan's past, while rejecting any Japanese involvement in war crimes.

Nineteen (76%) State Ministers are members of the Shinto League, while sixteen (64%) are affiliated with Nippon Kaigi. 

Four State Ministers are members of neither League. Emiko TAKAGAI, State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is the only LDP member affiliated with neither.

The other three are from the Komeito Party: Masayoshi HAMADA, State Minister for Reconstruction; Tomoko UKISHIMA, State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology; Yoshinori OGUCHI, State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. Komeito Party is associated with the Buddhist religious group, Sokka Gakkai. The party has been a coalition partner with the LDP since 1999. There is one member of the U.S. Congress who is a Sokka Gakkai member. 

October 18th was the Autumn Festival at Yasukuni Shrine. Although all the Cabinet Ministers refrained from visiting, we determined from public postings that eight State Ministers (32%) visited. Yasukuni is a Shinto Shrine (a form of animism) located in central Tokyo established in 1869 to anchor the new, modernizing Japanese state to a religion and an ideology. It “militarized” the religion. This Shrine is associated with the discredited “state Shinto” created to justify the Emperor-centric, military state. Many war criminals are enshrined there. Thus, visiting the Shrine is a controversial for politicians and bureaucrats. 

Although Abe appointed only two female State Ministers in his previous Cabinet, this time he increased the number to five female State Ministers (20%): Yukari SATO, State Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; Toshiko ABE, State Minister for Foreign Affairs; Emiko TAKAGAI, State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare; Yoshihiko ISOZAKI, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

★ New cabinet member
❇︎ Position as State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Abe’s 4th Cabinet

Position	First Name	Last Name	Shinto League	Nippon Kaigi	Yasukuni Visit (10/18)
State Minister for Reconstruction	Keiichiro	TACHIBANA★	✔
State Minister for Reconstruction	Masayoshi	HAMADA
State Minister of Cabinet Office	Akira	SATO★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of Cabinet Office	Ryosei	TANAKA	✔	✔
State Minister of Cabinet Office	Kazuyuki	NAKANE	✔		✔
State Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications	Junji	SUZUKI★		✔
State Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; State Minister of Cabinet Office	Yukari	SATO★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of Justice	Hiroshi	HIRAGUCHI★	✔	✔
State Minister for Foreign Affairs	Toshiko	ABE★	✔
State Minister for Foreign Affairs	Masahisa	SATO		✔
State Minister of Finance	Kenichiro	UENO	✔	✔
State Minister of Finance	Keisuke	SUZUKI★	✔
State Minister of education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology	Keiko	NAGAOKA★	✔	✔
State Minister of education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology; State Minister of Cabinet Office	Tomoko	UKISHIMA★
State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare	Yoshinori	OGUCHI★
State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare	Emiko	TAKAGAI★
State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries	Yasuhiro	OZATO★	✔	✔
State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries	Shuichi	TAKATORI★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry	Yoshihiro	SEKI★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; State Minister of Cabinet Office	Yoshihiko	ISOZAKI★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism	Takashi	OTSUKA★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; State Minister of Cabinet Office; State Minister for Reconstruction	Ichiro	TSUKADA★	✔	✔	✔
State Minister of the Environment	Minoru	KIUCHI★	✔	✔
State Minister of the Environment; State Minister of Cabinet Office	Tsukasa	AKIMOTO❇︎	✔	✔
State Minister of Defense; State Minister of Cabinet Office	Kenji	HARADA★	✔