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_ Nobutaka Machimura, 62: Chief Cabinet Secretary. Has held key Cabinet posts including foreign minister and education minister. Son of a lawmaker who also served as governor of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, Machimura began his career as a Trade Ministry bureaucrat before being elected to the lower house in 1983. Served as foreign minister in 2004-2005, during which he pushed for a permanent seat for Japan on the U.N. Security Council and decided to phase out aid to China by 2008.

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_ Masahiko Komura, 65: Foreign Minister. Served as Defense Minister in former prime minister Shinzo Abe's second Cabinet. A lawyer-turned-politician, Komura served as foreign minister in 1998 and justice minister in 2002 under then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Known for his hard line toward North Korea. Trained in Shorinji Kempo, similar to kung fu and karate, and heads a parliamentarian group of martial arts enthusiasts.

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_ Fukushiro Nukaga, 63: Retained as Finance Minister. Served as defense minister twice, once in the late 1990s and again for Koizumi in 2005. Also served as economy minister in 2000. Former reporter for a conservative newspaper, Nukaga was first elected to parliament in 1983. Forced to resign as defense minister in 1998 to take responsibility in a defense bribery scandal that led to a major electoral loss for the ruling party.

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_ Shigeru Ishiba, 50: Defense Minister. Banker-turned-politician and defense expert, Ishiba was elected to parliament in 1985 at age 27 as the country's youngest lawmaker ever. Ishiba has served as defense minister twice, most recently from 2003-2004 for the Koizumi Cabinet. Known as a "military otaku (geek) for his expertise in defense issues," Ishiba is associated with liberal views on foreign and defense policies. A Christian, Ishiba has acknowledged Japan's wartime aggression and opposes nuclear arms possession and leaders' visits to a Tokyo war shrine.

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_ Hiroko Ota, 52: Retained as economy and banking minister. A professor in public finance, she has served the Cabinet Office as an analyst and adviser on economic and fiscal policy since 2002. An expert on taxation, public finance and the social security system, Ota worked as an analyst for the Japan Institute of Life Insurance, and an associate professor at Osaka University.