Abe looks for rebound with make-or-break Cabinet reshuffle

Aug 04, 2017 | News On Japan

Aug 04, 2017 (Japan Times) - In a bid to put the brakes on his tumbling popularity, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe engineered a make-or-break reshuffle of his scandal-tainted Cabinet on Thursday, gravitating toward veterans to avoid further trouble.

The lineup suggests Abe trod very carefully, but the reshuffle is nonetheless a gamble that could doom him should it fail to contain the current wave of gaffes and scandals.

The new Cabinet counts among its 19 members 13 lawmakers who have previously held ministerial portfolios.

Among them are Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Foreign Minister Taro Kono, internal affairs minister Seiko Noda - who doubles as minister in charge of promoting female empowerment - and Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa. Noda and Kamikawa are the only two women in the new Cabinet.

"I have gathered a wide range of personnel to ensure the new Cabinet can focus on getting our job done. In a nutshell, this is a result-oriented Cabinet," Abe told a news conference Thursday evening.

"By producing results in our policy challenges, we would like to take steps - one by one - toward reviving the public trust," he said.

The choice of Noda, who has distanced herself from Abe, may have been an attempt by the beleaguered leader to dispel the growing criticism that he only favors those considered close to him, represented by recent cronyism allegations involving Abe's close friend Kotaro Kake.That Abe gravitated toward veterans appeared to underscore his desire to stop the bleeding from a litany of ministerial gaffes and scandals - including an alleged cover-up at the Defense Ministry - that have sent his administration's popularity declining to around 30 percent in recent polls.

In another testament to Abe's emphasis on experience, he kept the linchpins of his Cabinet intact, retaining Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Finance Minister Taro Aso, both of whom have faithfully supported the prime minister since his return to power in 2012.

Suga and Aso are among the six Cabinet members who survived the reshuffle, including land minister Keiichi Ishii and health minister Katsunobu Kato, who previously served as minister in charge of promoting dynamic engagement of all citizens. Hiroshige Seko stays on as economy, trade and industry minister.

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