Index of /enm/images/dokumen

(1)

It's official: Members of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's new Cabinet get ready for a group photograph at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on Tuesday night following their attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO

Kan hopes new team can ride popularity

Hatoyama, Ozawa exits boost support but some faces remain Kyodo News

(2)

The quick recovery in popularity may be in part due to Kan's being the first prime minister in 14 years who was not born into a blue-blooded political family, like his four immediate short-lived predecessors. Despite the leadership change, the two-party coalition government faces the same host of challenges: an economy still trying to claw itself out of a two-decade slump and a graying society with a stagnant birthrate. Sengoku said Kan selected Cabinet members based on his ambition to make Japanese politics more professional and clean. "This Cabinet is youthful, fresh and formed by people who love to work," Sengoku said at a news conference after releasing the lineup. Of Kan's 17 ministers, eight are in their 40s or 50s. Among new faces, Kan promoted Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda to finance minister and Masahiko Yamada, a senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, to farm minister, replacing Hirotaka Akamatsu, who drew fire in the end for failing to contain the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak that devastated Miyazaki Prefecture's livestock industry.

Upper House lawmaker Renho, who goes by her first name only, was made minister in charge of government revitalization, while Koichiro Genba, who heads the DPJ policy research council, was named state minister for civil service reform. Genba is also responsible for three other areas — the declining birthrate, gender equality and public services. Satoshi Arai became minister in charge of national strategy, economic and fiscal policy and consumer affairs.

Kan's Cabinet was to be formally inaugurated with an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace hosted by Emperor Akihito in the evening.Prior to the ceremony, Kan was to hold an inaugural news conference at the prime minister's office. According to government sources, he plans to give his policy speech in the Diet on Friday.

PRIME MINISTER

N a ot o Ka n

D a te o f b irth: Oct. 10 , 1946 P a rty: DPJ

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Tokyo No. 18 (10 th term )

(3)

MINISTER OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS Ka z u h ir o H a r a gu ch i D a te o f b irth: J uly 2, 1959

P a rty: Dem ocratic Party of J apan

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Saga No. 1 (fifth term )

H araguchi often appears on TV an d is popular with the public for his an alyses of tax, pen sion an d

decen tralization issues. After becom in g the in tern al affairs an d com m un ication s m in ister last year, he forged a plan to slash hirin g of cen tral govern m en t officials. H e began his political career in 198 7 as an LDP m em ber in the Saga Prefectural Assem bly. H e switched to Shin shin to an d held som e of the party's local chapter executive posts. Win n in g a Lower H ouse seat in 1996, he join ed the DPJ two years later, after Shin shin to disban ded. After studyin g psychology at the Un iversity of Tokyo, H araguchi atten ded the Matsushita In stitute of Govern m en t an d Man agem en t.

JUSTICE MINISTER

Ke ik o Ch iba

D a te o f b irth: May 11, 1948

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Upper H ouse; Kan agawa (fourth term )

A Yokoham a n ative, Chiba becam e a lawyer after graduatin g from Chuo Un iversity in Tokyo an d worked to protect the rights of wom en an d sen iors. She was first elected to the Upper H ouse in 198 6 with the backin g of the Social Dem ocratic Party of J apan , an d held executive posts in the party an d later in its successor, the Social Dem ocratic Party. Chiba left the SDP an d join ed the old DPJ in 1997. After bein g appoin ted justice m in ister in 20 0 9, she m ade her n am e with the en actm en t of legislation to abolish the statute of lim itation s for m urder an d robbery-m urder. H er attem pt to presen t the curren t Diet session with a bill perm ittin g m arried couples to have differen t surn am es was m et with stron g opposition in the Cabin et. Chiba has been active in hum an rights, in cludin g coexisten ce with foreign residen ts.

FOREIGN MINISTER

Ka t su ya Ok a da

D a te o f b irth: J uly 14, 1953

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Mie No. 3 (seven th term )

(4)

Men teri baru

FINANCE MINISTER

Yosh ih ik o N oda

D a te o f b irth: May 20 , 1957

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Chiba No. 4 (fifth term )

Kn own as a reform ist, Noda acted as sen ior vice fin an ce m in ister when the DPJ took office in Septem ber, first workin g un der Fin an ce Min ister H irohisa Fujii an d then Naoto Kan when Fujii stepped down in J an uary. Noda leads an in traparty group critical of ex-DPJ Secretary Gen eral Ichiro Ozawa. A n ative of Fun abashi, Chiba Prefecture, he graduated from Waseda Un iversity an dlater from the Matsushita In stitute of Govern m en t an d Man agem en t. In 198 7, Noda won a prefectural assem bly seat at age 29. H e join ed the J apan New Party foun ded in 1992 by Morihiro H osokawa, who later becam e prim e m in ister. In 1993, Noda gain ed a Lower H ouse seat for the first tim e. Before servin g as vice fin an ce m in ister, Noda was Diet affairs chief for the DPJ as well as head of public relation s

EDUCATION, CULTURE, SPORTS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

MINISTER

Ta t su o Ka w a ba t a

D a te o f b irth: J an . 24, 1945 P a rty: Dem ocratic Party of J apan

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Shiga No. 1 (eighth term )

As soon as he took up his post last year, Kawabata scrapped the precedin g adm in istration s' plan n ed an im ation cen ter an d cham pion ed the high school tuition waiver as pledged in the DPJ 's cam paign m an ifesto. The secon d son in a fam ily that own s a 30 0 -year-old pharm acy, Kawabata wen t to the graduate school of Kyoto Un iversity an d started workin g at Toray In dustries In c. as a researcher. H e later becam e in volved in un ion activities an d won a Lower H ouse seat for the first tim e in 198 6 on the Dem ocratic Socialist Party ticket. H e m oved to Shin shin to an d in 1998 join ed the DPJ . Kawabata served as DPJ vice presiden t an d chaired the Lower H ouse com m ittee on audits an d adm in istration oversight.

MINISTER OF HEALTH, LABOR AND WELFARE

Ak ir a N a ga t su m a

D a te o f b irth: J un e 14, 1960

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Tokyo No. 7 (fourth term )

(5)

Menteri baru

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES M a sa h ik o Ya m a da D a te o f b irth: April 8 , 1942

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Nagasaki No. 3 (fifth term )

As sen ior vice m in ister of agriculture, forestry an d fisheries, Yam ada has been busy han dlin g foot-an d-m outh disease in Miyazaki Prefecture. H e used to run a farm with 40 0 cows in Nagasaki Prefecture an d open ed butcher shops an d a "gyudon " beef bowl shop in the city of Nagasaki, though he has sold all such busin esses. H is first en try in to politics was in 1993 when he en tered the Lower H ouse on the ticket of the n ow-defun ct Shin seito. After various m ergers an d reorgan ization s of political parties, Yam ada even tually join ed the DPJ . H e won reelection in the 20 0 0 , 20 0 3 an d 20 0 5 polls th rough the proportion al represen tation system , but last year he fin ally won the seat in his electoral district.

MINISTER OF ECONOMY, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY M a sa yu k i N a osh im a D a te o f b irth: Oct. 23, 1945

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Upper H ouse; proportion al represen tation (third term )

While Naoshim a, who put together the DPJ 's cam paign pledges as policy chief last year, has n ot been in the cen ter of the political aren a, he has been workin g as a key m in ister to craft the govern m en t's n ew econ om ic growth strategy due to com e out this m on th. H is m in istry also recen tly disclosed a vision for J apan ese in dustries to catch up with global m arket chan ges. H avin g been a Toyota Motor Corp. em ployee an d vice chairm an of the Con federation of J apan Autom obile Workers' Un ion s, Naoshim a closely com m un icated with Toyota officials when the carm aker cam e un der fire over its global recalls. The Osaka Prefecture n ative join ed the DPJ in 1998 after several years in the Dem ocratic Socialist Party.

MINISTER OF LAND, INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT & TOURISM

Se ij i M a e h a r a

D a te

o f b irth: April 30 , 1962

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Kyoto No. 2 (sixth term )

(6)

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER

Sa k ih it o Oz a w a

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Yam an ashi No. 1 (sixth term )

Ozawa took his first Cabin et post last year as en viron m en t m in ister. On e of his achievem en ts was to have H atoyam a pledge that J apan reduce global warm in g gas em ission s by 25 percen t by 20 20 from 1990 levels, despite stron g opposition from in dustry. Ozawa has held executive position s in the DPJ , in cludin g vice secretary gen eral an d m in ister of econ om y, trade an d in dustry in the party's un official "Next Cabin et." H e join ed the old DPJ , precursor of the curren t DPJ , in 1996 after he was first elected to the Lower H ouse on the J apan New Party ticket in 1993. Before en terin g politics, he worked at the Ban k of Tokyo, n ow part of Ban k of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ , an d later headed the secretariat of the LDP Diet m em bers' policym akin g group for 10 years, specializin g in econ om ic policy.

DEFENSE MINISTER

Tosh im i Kit a z a w a

D a te o f b irth: March 6, 1938

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Upper H ouse; Nagan o (third term )

Defen se m in ister in the H atoyam a adm in istration , Kitazawafirst supported the proposal to m ove the U.S. Futen m a base to Cam p Schwab in Okin awa as per the 20 0 6 J apan -U.S. agreem en t but agreed to postpon e the decision because the Social Dem ocratic Party wan ted the base out of the prefecture. H e return ed to his origin al position , the DPJ 's fin al decision . The SDP pulled out of the rulin g bloc as a result. A Waseda Un iversity graduate, he began his political career as a Diet m em ber's secretary. H e was elected to the Nagan o Prefectural Assem bly in 1975 an d served 17 years. In 1992, he was elected to the Upper H ouse as an LDP m em ber but left the party in 1993 to join Shin shin to. H e join ed the DPJ in 1998 . At the DPJ , Kitazawa has been chairm an of the Upper H ouse Foreign Policy an d Defen se Com m ittee.

Men teri baru

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY

Yosh it o Se n gok u

D a te o f b irth: J an . 15, 1946

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Tokushim a No. 1 (sixth term )

(7)

NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN

H ir osh i N a k a i

D a te o f b irth: J un e 10 , 1942 P a rty: Dem ocratic Party of J apan

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Mie No. 1 (11th term )

Born in n ortheast Chin a an d a graduate of Keio Un iversity, Nakai was first elected as a m em ber of the Dem ocratic Socialist Party in 1976. H e served as justice m in ister for about 50 days in the short-lived H ata adm in istration in 1994. Nakai m oved to Shin shin to before form in g the Liberal Party with its leader, Ichiro Ozawa. H e was the party's vice presiden t. When the party m erged with the DPJ he again assum ed the role of vice presiden t. Kn own as a hardlin er on the North Korea abduction s issue, Nakai served as director of the party's abduction issue strategy headquarters. H e was also chairm an of the DPJ 's stan din g officers' coun cil. H is father, Tokujiro, was also a Lower H ouse m em ber.

STATE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF FINANCIAL AND POSTAL ISSUES Sh izu k a Ka m e i D a te o f b irth: Nov. 1, 1936

P a rty: Kokum in Shin to

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; H iroshim a No. 6 (11th term )

Kam ei, an outspoken veteran reappoin ted as postal an d fin an cial affairs m in ister, put every effort in to scalin g back the privatization of J apan Post H oldin gs Co. durin g the H atoyam a adm in istration an d con tin ues pressin g for related legislation . The 73-year-old Kokum in Shin to (People's New Party) chief first worked at a steel chem ical com pan y after graduatin g from Un iversity of Tokyo an d then join ed the Nation al Police Agen cy before bein g elected to the Lower H ouse in 1979. Un der LDP rule, he served as tran sport m in ister, con struction m in ister an d other key posts. H owever, because he opposed Prim e Min ister J un ichiro Koizum i's postal privatization plan , he was effectively expelled from the LDP an d laun ched Kokum in Shin to.

Menteri baru

STATE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF NATIONAL POLICY

Sa t osh i Ar a i

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; H okkaido No. 3 (fifth term )

(8)

Men teri baru

STATE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF CIVIL SERVICE REFORM AND

DECLINING BIRTHRATE

Koich ir o Ge n ba

D a te o f b irth: May. 20 , 1964 P a rty: Dem ocratic Party of J apan

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Lower H ouse; Fukushim a No. 3 (sixth term )

Kn own as on e of the DPJ 's youn g prospective leaders an d an advocate of fiscal rehabilitation , the 46-year-old Lower H ouse m em ber, who has distan ced him self from party kin gpin Ichiro Ozawa, is also servin g as the DPJ 's policy chief. After graduatin g from Sophia Un iversity in 198 7, Gen ba en tered the Matsushita In stitute of Govern m en t an d Man agem en t. The gran dson of town m ayors was elected to the Fukushim a Prefectural Assem bly in 1991. After win n in g a Lower H ouse seat for the first tim e in 1993, he joined New Party Sakigake the sam e year. In 1998 , he join ed the DPJ . Gen ba looks up to Win ston Churchill an d Tan zan Ishibashi, who becam e prim e m in ister in 1956.

Men teri baru

STATE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF GOVERNMENT REVITALIZATION Re n h o

D a te o f b irth: Nov. 28 , 1967 P a rty: Dem ocratic Party of J apan

Ele cto ra l d is trict: Upper H ouse; Tokyo (first term )