Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi retained key ministers in a Cabinet reshuffle while Yoshimasa Hayashi left his internal affairs minister's post and the government, a move that reshapes the field before the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's next leadership election. Finance and Financial Services Minister Satsuki Katayama remained in office and retained responsibility for a consumption tax and benefit bill that would cut the tax on food items and provide benefits. The government aims to submit the measure to an extraordinary Diet session as early as next month and enact it by year-end, as investors scrutinize Takaichi's expansionary fiscal agenda, rising debt-servicing costs and Japan's bond market. Takaichi also retained Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, while keeping the party's executive leadership broadly unchanged. Her LDP presidential term runs through September 2027, and the next contest is expected next fall.