Koizumi could be Defence Minister if Takaichi elected PM, say LDP sources

FILE PHOTO: Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi, right, stands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, center right, and other leadership candidates, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, center left, and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, left,after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. - Pool Photo via AP

TOKYO: Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, is planning to appoint Shinjiro Koizumi, now serving as agriculture minister, as head of the Defence Ministry if she is elected prime minister at the upcoming extraordinary Diet session, according to party sources.

Koizumi, 44, has been elected six times to the House of Representatives and represents Kanagawa Constituency No. 11.