On Sept. 25, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga appointed Takaya Imai, who served as special advisor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and four other people as special advisors to the Cabinet.

The role of special advisors to the Cabinet is to advise the Prime Minister on policy issues in specialized fields. Imai’s role will be limited to policies related to energy and other fields. Imai hails from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and served as executive secretary to the Prime Minister in charge of administrative affairs during the first Abe administration. After the launch of the second Abe administration in 2012, he was executive secretary in charge of parliamentary affairs. From 2019, he concurrently served as special advisor to the Prime Minister in charge of overall policy planning.

At a press conference on Sept. 25, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said, “[Mr. Imai] has long worked as executive secretary to [Prime Minister Abe]. We look forward to his drawing on his experience to advise the Cabinet when needed.” (Abridged)

           Special advisors to the Cabinet appointed by Prime Minister Suga