News On Japan

Suga's Cabinet lineup

Sep 17, 2020 (NHK) - More than half of Suga Yoshihide's cabinet ministers were part of an Abe government -- a reflection of the new leader's intentions to continue his predecessor's policies.

Aso Taro will stay on as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. He has been in the position for more than seven years.

Kato Katsunobu takes over for Suga as Chief Cabinet Secretary -- leaving the post of Health Minister.

Motegi Toshimitsu will continue as foreign minister. Motegi was leading trade talks with the US and Britain.

Abe's younger brother Kishi Nobuo will take on his first cabinet post, as Defense Minister.

Takeda Ryota will oversee the telecommunications and broadcasting industries.

Kamikawa Yoko becomes Justice Minister.

Hagiuda Koichi retains his post as Education Minister.

Tamura Norihisa returns to cabinet to become Health Minister, a post he held under a previous Abe administration.

Nogami Kotaro is the new Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister.

Kajiyama Hiroshi retains his portfolio as the trade and industry minister.

Akaba Kazuyoshi, from the LDP's junior coalition partner Komeito, remains Infrastructure Minister.

Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro will continue his role.

Hirasawa Katsuei becomes the Reconstruction Minister.

Okonogi Hachiro will oversee the national police watchdog group.

Sakamoto Tetsushi is the Minister for All Citizens' Active Engagement.

Hirai Takuya will take on one of Suga's prioritized policies, the government's digitalization.

Nishimura Yasutoshi will continue overseeing Japan's coronavirus measures, to balance those efforts with the revitalization of the economy.

Kono Taro will shift to a new role in cabinet -- Administrative Reform Minister. Suga has emphasized the importance of work to create a more efficient government.

Hashimoto Seiko retains her position, taking charge of the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Inoue Shinji will take a new post in charge of the World Expo, to be held in Osaka in 2025.

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A large new typhoon formed near the Ogasawara Islands on August 12 and could approach Honshu around the end of the Obon holiday period, while the remnants of Typhoon No. 15 continue to bring unstable weather and a risk of heavy rain across a wide area of Japan.

Hiroko Saito was 19 years old when she left Japan for North Korea in June 1961 with her Korean husband and their one-year-old daughter, persuaded by assurances that they were heading to a "paradise on earth" and that she could return to Japan after three years. Instead, she would spend four decades in North Korea, enduring chronic hunger, the deaths of her husband and children and a desperate struggle to survive before finally escaping and returning home in 2001.

Transport disruption caused by Typhoon No. 15 was easing across eastern Japan on the morning of August 12, with most major railway and airline services returning to normal after dozens of flight cancellations and widespread rail disruption during the storm's landfall in Ibaraki Prefecture the previous evening.

Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 successfully placed the Michibiki No. 7 navigation satellite into its planned orbit after lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:23 a.m. on August 11, marking the country's second consecutive successful H3 launch.

The Tokaido Shinkansen operated its first overnight service ahead of the Obon holiday period, offering travelers a 15,000 yen trip from the Tokyo area to Kyoto and Shin-Osaka while allowing them to save on hotel costs and arrive earlier than the first regular morning trains.

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