The Japanese government resigned this morning. The decision aims to favor the large reshuffle wanted by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in view of the early legislative elections scheduled for the end of the year. "All ministers have resigned," announced Cabinet Chief Osamu Fujimura. The premier will soon formalize the new team.
In full diplomatic confrontation with China over the matter of the disputed islands, Noda has nominated to the Ministry of Education Makiko Tanaka, daughter of former premier Kakuei Tanaka, author of the normalization of relations with Beijing in 1972.
The deputy Koriki Jojima will instead be the new finance minister of the country. Just a week before the annual IMF and World Bank summit in Tokyo, the appointment of Jojima, little known to the general public, surprises even Japanese observers who, in recent days, had speculated on other names from the possible range of centre-left economists .
Jojima, 65, has been rewarded for his crucial role in finding a compromise with the conservative opposition. The agreement allowed the approval of a law on the increase of VAT from 4% to 8% in exchange for early elections.
The deputy premier, Katsuya Okada, is confirmed in his post, with the task, among other things, of formulating a tax reform. The minister of Foreign Affairs, Koichiro Gemba, of Defense, Satoshi Morimoto, and of Commerce, Yukio Edano, also retain their seats.
Here are the other names of Noda's new team: Hiroyuki Nagahama to the Ministry of the Environment and Nuclear Disasters, Shinji Tarutoko to the Interior and Communications, Keishu Tanaka to Justice, Wakio Mitsui to Health and Welfare, Akira Gunji to Agriculture and Fishing, Transport and infrastructure Yuichiro Hata.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange is still in red: the index The Nikkei closed down 0,8% to 8.796,51 while the Topix lost 0,7% to 732,35.
