TEHRAN, October 02 - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe kept key ministers in their posts in a cabinet reshuffle in Tuesday, including finance, trade and foreign affairs, while appointing just one woman to the new lineup.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Abe, who has made female empowerment a high profile policy, tapped Satsuki Katayama, a conservative lawmaker and former finance official, as minister of regional revitalization and gender equality, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in announcing the cabinet.
Abe, who returned to office in December 2012 after a troubled 2006-2007 term as premier, was re-elected leader of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last month, putting him on track to become Japan's longest-serving prime minister.
Abe's reshuffle appeared to focus on stability as he prepares to push ahead with his controversial attempt to revise the post-war, pacifist constitution, political experts said.
His allies Suga and Finance Minister Taro Aso were reappointed.
Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko, Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who handled difficult trade talks with Washington, also kept their posts.
"He's appointed old friends and reliable allies and kept people in key portfolios to buy stability," said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University's Japan campus.
He added that the appointment of just one female minister in a 19-member cabinet "exposes the empty grandstanding on 'Womenomics'". The previous cabinet had two female members.
Abe chose Takeshi Iwaya, a former parliamentary vice defense minister, to replace Itsunori Onodera as defense minister. Iwaya was known recently for backing the legalization of casinos in Japan.
Source: Reuters
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