TOKYO: A member of the Japan Innovation Party has joined a cabinet for the first time, following the reshuffle by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that was completed on Thursday (Sept 17).
The appointment of former JIP Secretary General Hiroshi Nakatsuka as minister for regulatory reform marks a change in stance for the Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner.
The 70-year-old told reporters that Takaichi was expecting him to “carry out reforms that only the JIP can achieve.”
Founded in 2012, the JIP has made reform its banner, aligning with background of the party’s founder, former Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, who gained support through administrative and fiscal reforms.
Now that it has secured a ministerial post related to this banner, the JIP is expected to act as the government’s accelerator in driving reforms.
Takaichi also has high expectations. During a meeting with JIP coleader Fumitake Fujita at the Prime Minister’s Office, she asked the JIP to take the lead on regulatory and administrative reform.
Even with her endorsement, however, it is still unclear if regulatory reforms will proceed as smoothly as the JIP envisions, especially given the possibility of pushback from LDP lawmakers with strong ties to industry groups that endorse them.
In April 2025, for example, the JIP — while still an opposition party — submitted a bill to fully lift the ban on ride-share services, triggering backlash from the taxi industry.
A veteran LDP lawmaker also said that the bill could not be accepted.
The JIP has certainly gained greater influence within the coalition government with its shift in stance regarding the Cabinet.
When the Takaichi administration was launched in October, the JIP did not have any of its members join the Cabinet.
Instead, its Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Takashi Endo was chosen to serve as special adviser to the prime minister.
Some within the LDP argued that having a JIP member in this position would be unnecessary once the party had a member in a cabinet position, but Takaichi has retained Endo in the role.
There is a growing sense of concern within the LDP that the Prime Minister’s Office moving even closer to the JIP could become a source of turmoil in the administration. - The Yomiuri Shimbun
