Do we like Yoshimasa Hayashi?
Our score: 5 out of 10. No harmful words or acts of his own turned up, but there's also little on record about people or the planet, and little real good to point to.
Hayashi is political royalty in Japan. He is the son of former finance minister Yoshiro Hayashi, studied law at the University of Tokyo and did a public administration master's at Harvard's Kennedy School. He became his father's secretary in 1992, was first elected in 1995 and spent five terms in the Upper House before switching to the Lower House in 2021.
The CV is a long one: defence minister in 2008, agriculture, education, then foreign minister from 2021. In December 2023 Kishida pulled him back in as chief cabinet secretary after dumping Hirokazu Matsuno as the Abe faction's slush fund scandal escalated. The report we read doesn't say Hayashi was involved in that scandal. He later ran for the top job himself and, in 2025, pledged to continue the programs of Kishida and Ishiba.
As education minister in 2018, weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun alleged he used a government car to visit a yoga studio run by an adult video performer. He addressed the claims and denied breaking government rules, and no sanction was reported. In 2024, as chief cabinet secretary, he said he had met people tied to a Unification Church-linked group in 2021. He said he had not agreed to its policies, did not recall what was discussed, and said no one on his staff remembered a policy document being presented.
On the harm check, honestly, the cupboard is bare. We found no anti-LGBTQ+, anti-migrant or climate-denial words from him, and we also found no statement from him on same-sex marriage or trans rights, so that's a gap, not a tick. Observers did worry in 2021 about his chairing a cross-party China friendship league, which is a diplomacy worry, not a harm one.
The recent news is a demotion of sorts. Takaichi, who beat him in the 2025 leadership race, removed him from internal affairs in September 2026 and replaced him with first-timer Hisayuki Fujii. Reports say the reshuffle was about continuity, and none gives a reason for his exit. Another report puts him in the frame for the LDP leadership race next year.
The good stuff is mostly colour. He is a Beatles tragic who plays guitar and piano, says he learned English from their songs, and sang Imagine at a piano in Liverpool during a 2021 G7 meeting. That's charming, but it isn't charity, and we found no verified charity work or stand taken at a personal cost.