Koizumi Reshuffles New Cabinet As Expected

The new Cabinet which Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will lead was launched yesterday.

Besides Koizumi, out of 17 Cabinet members, 6 of them including Economics and Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka and Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba will retain their post. Two of the Cabinet members, though their titles were changed, still remain as Cabinet members and other nine new members were selected from the fractions that supported Koizumi`s re-election.

▽ The Main Frame Unchanged = Despite the relatively dramatic reshuffling of the Cabinet, as foreign, defense, economics, agricultural, agriculture and welfare minister, as well as chief Cabinet secretary retain their posts, Koizumi`s second Cabinet preludes that it would maintain the policies of his first Cabinet.

“While cooperating with the international society on the Japanese abduction issue and nuclear issue of the North, Japan will consistently maintain its policy of reaching a peaceful resolution,” said Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, hitting there will be no change of foreign policies.

Koizumi unveiled his inner thoughts to pursue structural reforms as by deciding to keep reformers in the cabinet shake-up, including Economics and Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka, who was heavily demanded to be reshuffled in the Liberal Democratic Party, and Health Minister Chikara Sakaguchi, who is pushing a pension system reform.

As the hawkish Defense Minister Shigeru on North Korean, who even mentions a preemptive strike in spite of the possibility of violating the constitution, retained his post, Japan`s hard-line stance toward North Korea is likely to continue. On top of that, Japan is also likely to continue to pursue the introduction of the missile defense system as an excuse to counter the nuclear threat of the North Korea and maintain its defense policies such as dispatch to Iraq.

Former LDP policy chief Taro Aso party, who was criticized for beautifying Japan`s colonial period, was appointed as policy chief. In addition, conservative figures on historical matters were also promoted. For instance, former Administrative Reform Minister Nobuteru Ishihara, the eldest son of Tokyo Prefecture Major Shintaro Ishihara, a notorious extreme rightist, was appointed as to land, infrastructure and transport minister.

“They only talked about reforms, the new Cabinet is also no different to the previous Cabinet, which could not bring in any positives results, including economic recovery,” opposition of Koizumi in the LDP criticized the reshuffling.

Thus, by disbanding the House of Representatives and through the November general election, Koizumi, who belongs to a minor fraction in the party, is expectedly to move swiftly to accelerate political restructuring in order to crush the oppositions in the LDP.

Hun-Joo Cho hanscho@donga.com