Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ranked 10th in personal assets among the 18 cabinet members, according to the newly disclosed financial records of the Takaichi cabinet. Her assets represent the smallest fortune for a prime minister since the second Abe cabinet in 2012.
According to Japanese media outlets including Yomiuri Shimbun on Monday, Prime Minister Takaichi and her husband reported combined assets of 32.06 million yen (approximately 305 million won, or $213,000).
The prime minister personally declared land and buildings worth 11.42 million yen in her hometown of Nara City, along with two vehicles. Her husband, former House of Representatives member Taku Yamamoto, reported land and buildings worth 10.64 million yen in Fukui Prefecture and 10 million yen in time deposits.
The average assets of all 18 cabinet members totaled 66.41 million yen (approximately 631 million won, or $440,000). This represents a decrease of 6.04 million yen (approximately 57.42 million won) from the previous Shigeru Ishiba cabinet's average.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi reported the highest assets at 272.48 million yen (approximately 2.588 billion won, or $1.8 million). The entire amount belonged to his spouse, freelance announcer Christel Takigawa.
Five officials reported assets exceeding 100 million yen: Defense Minister Koizumi, followed by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (193.97 million yen), Internal Affairs Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (150.88 million yen), Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama (139.66 million yen), and Territorial Issues Minister Jiro Akama (101.99 million yen).
Japan's asset disclosure system does not include ordinary and checking account balances, and only the number of shares held is reported without reflecting their market value, leading some analysts to suggest that actual assets may exceed the disclosed figures.
