“Once burnt, twice shy” could well sum up Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attitude as he readies a cabinet to be unveiled on Wednesday, a year after a shake-up that ended in tears.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to reshuffle at least half of his cabinet.
“This is no real great shake up, and (prime minister) Abe has kept his key allies close at hand so upcoming decisions regarding his security agenda and potential further constitutional reforms can be made and ratified retroactively as we’ve seen in the past, but in the short term, ostensibly, the government’s focus has been redirected back to the economy,”Asian affairs commentator Kaoru Imori told Xinhua”.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced the new line-up after Abe collected letters of resignation from ministers at a noon meeting.
Hiroshi Hase, a colourful 54-year-old professional wrestler-turned-politician, will also be given the education portfolio, local media said.
This time, he opted for stability as he refocuses on the economy after the unpopular security legislation passed.
At the press conference Wednesday evening, Abe dubbed his reshuffled Cabinet as one that was aimed at taking up challenges in the future, including the creation of “a society with all 100 million people-plus dynamically engaged”. The idea is to promote “a society where all 100 million people are active”, Abe said. The new minister must “destroy barriers between ministries and agencies; must have the imagination to put together bold policies and the ability to break through difficulties to put them into practice”, he said.
Tamayo Marukawa, a 44-year-old former television anchorwoman, was appointed environment minister while 50-year-old Aiko Shimajiri was given the portfolio in charge of Okinawa and the northern territories.
Most Japanese say they are not feeling any benefit from his Abenomics policies of unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus that led to a surge in stock prices and exports since he came to power in December 2012.
Shimomura had said he would stand down over missteps that forced the scrapping of plans for a new national stadium as the centerpiece of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The number of women in the cabinet, however, dropped to three from five, according to Bangkok Post.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, a 54-year-old Upper House lawmaker who in 2012 lost the race for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership post against Abe, was replaced as agriculture minister by Hiroshi Moriyama, after serving less than a year in the post.
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Koichi Hagiuda, an LDP aide to Abe, replaces Kato as a deputy chief cabinet secretary.
