Fri, August 01, 2008
TOKYO, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reshuffled his 17-member Cabinet Friday in a bid to bolster support rate ahead of next parliamentary election.
Four Cabinet members, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, Foreign Minister Komura and Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe retained their posts.
Machimura announced the lineup of the new Cabinet in the evening at a press conference held at the prime minister's official residence.
Fukuda made clear his decision to reshuffle the Cabinet during a meeting earlier in the day with Akihiro Ota, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s minor coalition partner the New Komeito party.
The Cabinet reshuffle was the first for Fukuda since he took office and inherited most of the Cabinet last September from Shinzo Abe, who resigned out of physical reasons.
Prior to the Cabinet reshuffle, Fukuda changed the leadership of the LDP in the afternoon. Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso was reappointed secretary general and No. 2 powerful of the party.
Japanese media said the choice of Aso, who is especially welcomed by the younger generation, was aimed at improving the popularity of the LDP.
Calls within the ruling coalition for Fukuda to form a Cabinet reflecting his own political stance have been mounting since earlier this month as the approval rating for the prime minister remained low around the dangerous level of 30 percent even after he successfully chaired the Group of Eight summit from July 7 to 9.
