Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday unveiled his first major Cabinet reshuffle as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. The announcement also represents the first Cabinet shakeup since the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July.
Abe’s assassination last month has completely changed the political landscape inside the LDP, and with two election victories and the political vacuum resulting from Abe’s death, Kishida could have exploited the situation to elevate his intraparty allies and marginalize his rivals.
The reshuffle could have radically altered the power dynamics of the ruling party, but that is not how it ultimately played out and instead Kishida went with a surprisingly traditional approach to the latest Cabinet appointments.