Japan Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa to Stay On Under PM Takaichi

Continuity in the trade portfolio matters more than the cabinet reshuffle itself, since Akazawa's brief spans the policy files most relevant to Japan's external economic posture. The signal is stability rather than a new direction, which is what markets tend to read from an unchanged incumbent. The open question is whether that continuity extends to the substance of trade policy under the new government, given that no details on the scope of his duties were provided.