TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will appoint a
former senior ruling party official Koriki Jojima as Finance Minister in
a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, local media reports said.
Until recently, Jojima, 65, chaired the Diet Affairs Committee of
the Democratic Party of Japan, negotiating with opposition parties that
control the upper house of parliament.
He will replace Jun Azumi, who became the DPJ’s acting secretary
general last week.
Noda is expected to reappoint some key cabinet members including
Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba and
Defence Minister Satoshi Morimoto amid heightened territorial disputes
with China and South Korea, the Asahi Shimbun and other newspapers said.
The government also faces stiff opposition from residents of Okinawa
Prefecture in southern Japan where the U.S. military will deploy Osprey
aircraft at its base. Safety concerns remain in the wake of recent
crashes involving Osprey models overseas.
Last month, Noda, 55, was re-elected as the leader of the ruling
party, as widely expected. He took office on Sept. 2, 2011, becoming the
third DPJ prime minister since the party took power away from the
Liberal Democratic Party in 2009 national elections.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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