Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is in the process of finalizing his Cabinet plans, with the intention of appointing Hiromasa Nakano as the new land minister. Nakano, who is a Lower House member and former parliamentary vice minister of economy, trade and industry, will fill the position currently held by Tetsuo Saito, who is expected to step down and take over as the new leader of the Komeito party. This move is part of Ishiba's strategy to retain a member of Komeito in the Cabinet.
Nakano, aged 46 and in his fifth term as a Lower House member, has a background as a bureaucrat in the land ministry and is currently heading Komeito's economy, trade, and industry division. Meanwhile, Tetsuo Saito is poised to be elected as Komeito's chief representative at an extraordinary party convention on November 9, following Keiichi Ishii's resignation due to the party's losses in the recent Lower House election. Ishiba's ability to enact these Cabinet changes hinges on being reappointed as prime minister during a special Diet session scheduled for November 11.
In addition to these developments, Justice Minister Hideki Makihara and Agriculture Minister Yasuhiro Ozato lost their seats in the Lower House election. In response, Ishiba plans to appoint Keisuke Suzuki as the new justice minister and Taku Eto as the new agriculture minister, while keeping other ministers in their current positions. Suzuki, a member in his sixth term and former state minister for foreign affairs, disclosed his participation in a meeting related to the Unification Church during a party investigation. Eto, a veteran Lower House member who previously served as agriculture minister in the Abe Cabinet, is expected to take up the agriculture ministry role once again.