Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday reshuffled his Cabinet, tapping a record five women as ministers in a bid to reverse the declining trend in the popularity of his government with speculation lingering he plans to dissolve the lower house soon.
Japanese news agency Kyodo reported that hopes the revamp will give a boost to his administration, paving the way for his Liberal Democratic Party to emerge victorious from the next House of Representatives election and strengthening support from within his party before the LDP presidential race in 2024.
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura retained their position while Former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa, a veteran female lawmaker, was named foreign minister.
Among new faces, Minoru Kihara was appointed as Defense Minister, Keizo Takemi as Health Minister, Shinako Tsuchiya as Reconstruction Minister and Ichiro Miyashita as Farm Minister.
Earlier Wednesday, the Japanese Prime Minister, 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 daughter of late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, as election campaign chief.
After the reshuffle, Kishida will work on economic steps to deal with price hikes and address issues related to the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Source: Qatar News Agency