Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reshuffled his Cabinet Monday after his victory in Saturday's Liberal Democratic Party presidential election. The new Cabinet demonstrates the prime minister's determination to push his mandate without being swayed by forces that oppose his policy line.
Symbolic of Mr. Koizumi's will is his decision to retain both Mr. Heizo Takenaka as state minister in charge of financial, economic and fiscal policy, and Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi as foreign minister. Both Mr. Takenaka and Ms. Kawaguchi hail from the private sector, and were frequent targets of criticism by some LDP senior members. Their retention serves as a statement that Mr. Koizumi will pursue his reform policy line in the face of opposition from within the LDP.
In reshuffling his 17-member Cabinet, the prime minister retained six ministers in their former posts and transferred two to different posts. Among the latter two, Mr. Nobuteru Ishihara, formerly minister in charge of administrative and regulatory reforms, was appointed minister of land, infrastructure and transport in a sign that the new Cabinet will seriously tackle the privatization of the Japan Highway Public Corp.