The Ministers of Abe's Fifth Cabinet

On October 2, 2018, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet. Of the 19 Cabinet Ministers in his Fifth Cabinet, eight (42.1%) were re-appointed from the previous Cabinet and eleven (57.8%) are new. 

This Cabinet is measurably more conservative than his previous ones. 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.

Only one Minister is a member of neither League: Keiichi ISHII, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. He is from the Komeito Party that 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.

Taro KONO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Masatoshi ISHIDA, Minister for International Affair and Communications; Yoshiaki HARADA, Minister of the Environment; and Takuya HIRAI, Minister for Information Technology Policy, although members of the Shinto League, are not members of the Nippon Kaigi.

There is only one female minister: Satsuki KATAYAMA, Minister of State for Regional Revitalization. In Abe's previous Cabinet (4th) there were four female ministers and in his 3rd, two.

★ New cabinet member
❇︎ Past affiliation with Shinto League, but not in recent years

Position	First Name	Last Name	Shinto League	Nippon Kaigi
Prime Minister	Shinzo	ABE	✔	✔
Minister of Finance	Taro	ASO	✔	✔
Minister for Internal Affair and Communications	Masatoshi	ISHIDA ★	✔
Minister of Justice	Takashi	YAMASHITA★	✔	✔
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Taro	KONO	✔
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology	Masahiko	SHIBAYAMA ★	✔	✔
Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare	Takumi	NEMOTO	✔ ❇︎	✔
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	Takamori	YOSHIKAWA ★	✔	✔
Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry	Hiroshige	SEKO	✔	✔
Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism	Keiichi	ISHII
Minister of the Environment	Yoshiaki	HARADA ★	✔
Minister of Defense	Takeshi	IWAYA ★	✔	✔
Chief Cabinet Secretary	Yoshihide	SUGA	✔	✔
Minister for Reconstruction	Hiromichi	WATANABE ★	✔	✔
Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission	Junzo	YAMAMOTO ★	✔	✔
Minister for Promoting Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens	Mitsuhiro	MIYAKOSHI ★	✔	✔
Minister in charge of Information Technology Policy	Takuya	HIRAI ★	✔
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy	Toshimitsu	MOTEGI	✔	✔
Minister of State for Regional Revitalization	Satsuki	KATAYAMA ★	✔	✔
Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic	Yoshitaka	KATAYAMA ★	✔	✔