Soft-spoken Shunichi Suzuki, who has retained his role as finance minister, is known for his coordination skills and was one of the key supporters of Fumio Kishida during Kishida's bid for the ruling party's presidency and the premiership two years ago.
Suzuki, 70, has been on good terms with Kishida, who leads the liberal-leaning faction within the Liberal Democratic Party that his father and the late former Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki once headed. He took over the finance portfolio held by his brother-in-law Taro Aso, the longest-serving finance chief in postwar Japan.
A native of northeastern Japan's Iwate Prefecture, the 10th-term House of Representatives lawmaker was first elected to the powerful chamber in 1990. He has served as environment minister and minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
