times of her infertility treatment on the advice of Diet member Seiko Hashimoto. Noda was appointed as State Minister in charge of Consumer Affairs by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on August 1, 2008. In the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, appointed on September 24, 2008, Noda retained her post. On 5 September 2021, Noda announced her intentions to run for the Liberal Democratic leadership in the 2021 election. On 4 October 2021, she was appointed to the new Cabinet by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. She was given the portfolios of Minister for Promoting Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens, Minister in charge of Regional Revitalization, Minister of State for Measures for Declining Birthrate, Minister of State for Regional Revitalization, Minister of Loneliness, Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment and Minister of State for Gender Equality. On 10 August 2022, Noda was dismissed from her ministerial position because of ties to the Unification Church. Her dismissal was part of a wider purge by the Kishida administration following the assassination of Shinzo Abe and increasing media scrutiny of LDP officials' close ties with the church. Former Bank of Japan official Masanobu Ogura was appointed as her replacement. Policies and accomplishments Noda herself acknowledges that she is a mainstream conservative, in the sense that she believes in upholding the spirit of the constitution, and the core principles of the LDP. She also says that the fortunes of the nation depend on the valuing its people (she uses the term "talent"), and that developing and nurturing this talent is essential. Like many of her colleagues in the LDP, she is affiliated with the openly revisionist Nippon Kaigi. Postal Privatization Bill In 2005, she gained attention by voicing opposition to the postal privatization proposal pushed by Prime Minister Koizumi, an issue that dominated headlines that year. Because of her opposition to the introduction of the Japan Post privatization bill on April 27, 2005, she is considered to be at the forefront of the anti-privatization group, but in response she explained "I'm just saying that the current Takenaka plan is useless" and that she is not opposed to the concept of privatization. She maintains that the bill would be a "direct hit on the people's way of life", pointing out that the United States, the model of deregulation, still keeps it under government control. She further criticizes the bill as a "mere wedge of confrontation" .