Politics Cabinet reshuffle ahead of possible snap election

[thomas]

Today, PM Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet, appointing a record-tying five women as ministers to boost his government's popularity amid speculation that he is exploring the best timing to dissolve the lower house for a snap election. The new Cabinet comprises eleven new faces, replacing Foreign Minister Hayashi with Kamikawa Yoko, a former justice minister who belongs to the Kishida faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Kishida retained Digital Minister Kono Taro, a Georgetown University graduate and popular figure previously serving as Foreign Minister, to tackle the My Number card problems.

Kishida has also selected Ayuko Kato, a three-term Lower House member, as Minister in charge of policies related to raising children and Minister for measures to halt the declining birthrate—two key policy challenges for the administration. Kato, 44, who formerly served as parliamentary vice minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, is a daughter of Koichi Kato, former LDP secretary-general. Hanako Jimi, a parliamentary vice minister of the Cabinet Office, has been named Minister for regional revitalization. In contrast, Shinako Tsuchiya, a former state minister of health, labour and welfare, has been appointed Minister for Reconstruction. Sanae Takaichi has been retained as Minister in charge of economic security. Eleven LDP lawmakers have taken their first Cabinet portfolio, including Kato, Jimi and Tsuchiya. Among them is Minoru Kihara, a former special adviser to the prime Minister, who replaced Yasukazu Hamada as defence minister. However, Kishida retained members in the core framework of his Cabinet, such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, to maintain stability. Yasutoshi Nishimura also kept the post of industry minister, tasked with the program to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.

Kishida matches record by picking 5 women in Cabinet reshuffle | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

However, the experts added that Kishida's failure to give central posts to newcomers may limit the public impact of his new Cabinet. Earlier Wednesday, Kishida, who heads the LDP, changed the ruling party's leadership. Among its four key executives, he retained Toshimitsu Motegi and Koichi Hagiuda as secretary general and policy chief, respectively, while picking Yuko Obuchi, the 49-year-old daughter of late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, as election campaign chief. The selection of Obuchi appears to be another move to freshen up a roster otherwise dominated by male lawmakers and comes despite her resignation as industry minister in 2014 following a political funds misuse scandal.

Paywall alert:

Japan PM Kishida revamps cabinet ahead of election

Record five women appointed as ministers to bolster voter support

asia.nikkei.com

The following is the lineup of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's new Cabinet and their ages (Kyodo):

• Prime Minister: Fumio Kishida 66
• Internal Affairs and Communications Minister: Junji Suzuki 65
• Justice Minister: Ryuji Koizumi 70
• Foreign Minister: Yoko Kamikawa 70
• Finance Minister: Shunichi Suzuki 70
• Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister: Masahito Moriyama 69
• Health, Labor and Welfare Minister: Keizo Takemi 71
• Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister: Ichiro Miyashita 65
• Economy, Trade and Industry Minister: Yasutoshi Nishimura 60
• Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister: Tetsuo Saito 71
• Environment Minister: Shintaro Ito 70
• Defense Minister: Minoru Kihara 54
• Chief Cabinet Secretary: Hirokazu Matsuno 61
• Digital Minister: Taro Kono 60
• Reconstruction Minister: Shinako Tsuchiya 71
• Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission: Yoshifumi Matsumura 59
• Minister in charge of policies related to children: Ayuko Kato 44
• Minister in charge of economic revitalization: Yoshitaka Shindo 65
• Minister in charge of financial security: Sanae Takaichi 62
• Minister in charge of regional revitalization: Hanako Jimi 47

Note: Saito is a member of the Komeito party. The others are from the Liberal Democratic Party

Appointing a handful of female ministers is a step in the right direction (although I wished Nazi sympathiser Takaichi would have been booted), but apart from the gender shakeup, there isn't much new to see. I wonder why Foreign Minister Hayashi lost his position.

 

[thomas]

On a side note: Kamikawa Yoko, the newly appointed Foreign Minister, was the Justice Minister who ordered 16 executions during her time in office, 13 of those executed being former members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult.

 

[thomas]

Two more disturbing facts about the new cabinet.... or perhaps three.

1. While the new cabinet has five female ministers, all 54 junior ministerial positions (senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries) were filled with men. This is the first time, not a single woman has been appointed to one of these positions since the posts were introduced in 2001.
2. More than 40 per cent of newly appointed senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries have acknowledged past ties with the Unification Church, formerly known as the World Peace and Unification Family Federation, or its related organizations.
3. The cabinet reshuffle has failed to raise public support for the Kishida administration. The approval rating stagnates around 39.2%. On the contrary, over three-quarters of Japanese voters are unhappy with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's handling of price rises.