Japan Press Weekly

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2012 January 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Noda reshuffles his Cabinet to implement consumption tax hike and cuts in Diet seats

In Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko’s reshuffled Cabinet announced on January 13, Okada Katsuya gained the No.2 position as minister in charge of a “unified reform of the tax and social welfare systems” and administrative reform.

Okada, former Secretary General of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is known as an advocate of a consumption tax hike and cuts in the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives.

Okada’s appointment as deputy prime minister shows Noda’s determination to push through a consumption tax increase and a reduction of Diet seats as a package.

Noda replaced Defense Minister Ichikawa Yasuo and Consumer Affairs Minister Yamaoka Kenji, who were both censured in the House of Councilors last month, with Tanaka Naoki and Matsubara Jin.

Noda also gave the post of Justice Minister to Ogawa Toshio and Education Minister to Hirano Hirofumi.

Commenting on the new Noda Cabinet at a news conference, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, “The focus should be on what kind of policies the Prime Minister intends to implement, not how he shook up his Cabinet.”

Ichida criticized the Noda Cabinet for returning to the Liberal Democratic Party form of politics and said that the JCP will do its utmost in the Diet to have the issues properly debated.