Abe falls back on safe hands in latest Cabinet rejig

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(Asia Today Friday 4 August 2017)

Abe falls back on safe hands in latest Cabinet rejig

Japan's new Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera. Photo: Reuters

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Japan's new Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera. Photo: Reuters

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, with his deputy, Finance Minister Taro Aso...

Japan's new Foreign Minister Taro Kono. Photo: Reuters

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, with his deputy, Finance Minister Taro Aso...

Many ministers reappointed or taking up new posts as PM tries to boost flagging support

Published: 4:00 AM, August 4, 2017

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, beset by scandals and falling support, opted almost entirely for safe hands over fresh faces in a Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, but the changes may not give him the boost in support he wants.

Many ministers are being reappointed, such as Finance Minister Taro Aso, or are taking up posts they have held before. One of the few exceptions is new Foreign Minister Taro Kono, who is known for both his willingness to criticise the ruling party and a frankness unusual for a Japanese politician.

Mr Abe also appointed longtime ruling party policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as new economy minister, overseeing structural reforms that are part of the premier’s “Abenomics” stimulus policies aimed at reviving the stagnant economy.

“The economy remains our top priority,” Mr Abe told a news conference after the reshuffle, apologising for the scandals he described as having harmed public trust in his policy handling. “We’ll seek to end deflation by accelerating a virtuous economic cycle.”

Sweeping reforms meant to rejuvenate the sluggish economy and cope with Japan’s slow birthrate and ageing, shrinking population have made little headway as Mr Abe instead focused on other issues such as revising the pacifist constitution.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, a key power broker who retained his post, announced the new lineup. It is Mr Abe’s fourth since he took office in late 2012. The last Cabinet was appointed about a year ago.

Of 19 Cabinet members, 14 were newly named. But many are party or Cabinet veterans, including Mr Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister who again was named to that post.

One of the major tasks facing Mr Kono and Mr Onodera will be to coordinate closely with the United States, Japan’s closest ally, in the face of North Korea’s worrying missile and nuclear development programmes, as well as China’s growing regional clout.

“The threat from North Korea has heightened, both for Japan and the United States,” Mr Abe said. “There has never been a time when strengthening Japan-US alliance has become so important.”

Mr Abe added that Japan plans to soon hold a “two plus two” meeting of foreign and defence ministers with the US to boost the alliance’s deterrence in the face of North Korea’s continued missile tests.

Opinion polls show that support for Mr Abe has plunged to its lowest level at below 30 per cent, with the opposition fanning suspicions of Mr Abe’s favouritism to a friend, and voters believing that he and his aides have grown arrogant in office. He was also hurt by the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) defeat by a novice political party in a July assembly election. Mr Abe had until recently also been seen as likely to win a third term as head of his ruling LDP and thus the premiership, putting him on track to be Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.

Despite Mr Abe’s promises to create a society “where women can shine”, the new Cabinet has only two women, down from three in the past and five in one of his previous governments — a sign of how far women still have to go in the LDP, said Ms Misako Iwamoto, a women’s studies professor at Mie University. “If you’re trying to appoint skilled people, because there are so few skilled women lawmakers, this is what happens,” she added.

Internal Affairs Minister Seiko Noda, often spoken of as a possible future female premier, previously held a slightly different version of that portfolio. She also tried to run against Mr Abe in the most recent LDP election.

Dr Koichi Nakano, an international politics professor at Sophia University in Tokyo who is often critical of the ruling party, said the new Cabinet lineup was “dull” and defensive in nature. “Abe’s cornered and one of the main goals of the reshuffle was to remove problematic ministers, although Mr Abe himself is the root of many problems,’’ Dr Nakano said.

Experts said they expect work on Mr Abe’s pet conservative causes, such as strengthening the role of the military, would continue behind the scenes.

The shake-up reflects Mr Abe’s recognition that despite the LDP’s overwhelming majority in parliament, his own once seemingly-invincible position after more than four years in office may be imperilled.

“Interpreting it positively, he’s re-assembled his first Cabinet with hands-on people prioritising economic revival,” said Mr Hiroyuki Fukunaga, chief executive at Investrust. “But it also seems as if we’ve returned to that time.” AGENCIES

MAVERICK, OLD FACE AMONG LATEST LINE-UP FOREIGN MINISTER TARO KONO

Mr Kono, 54, is known for his close ties with Washington and as a political maverick who does not shy away from speaking his mind even on politically sensitive issues.

Educated at Georgetown University and fluent in English, he also worked as an aide for several US politicians before returning to Japan.

“In the current state of confusion and flip-flop in Washington, Kono’s deep and broad network of personal connections will be a huge asset,” said Jesper Koll, head of equity fund WisdomTree Japan.

Mr Kono was head of the National Public Safety Commission, a Cabinet-level post, for 10 months to August 2016, and was responsible for security for the G7 summit in Ise-Shima while doubling as an administrative reform minister.

First elected to parliament in 1996, he has said he wants Japan to commit to phasing out nuclear power by shutting down reactors when they reach 40 years of service, contrasting the government’s policy of maintaining its nuclear reactors as a core energy source.

He has also criticised the government’s resistance to opening the door to immigrants as a way to address a shortage of workers as Japan’s population ages and shrinks.

Despite his record as a political maverick, analysts said they expected a more modest approach to diplomacy.

“I see a good overall balance between Kono, who is a dove, and Prime Minster Abe, who is on the hawkish side,” said Tomoaki Iwai, political science professor at Nihon University.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also spoke highly of Mr Kono.

“In terms of diplomacy, we have a mountain of crucial issues,” said Mr Suga. “I’m certain the new foreign minister will tackle them.”

Mr Kono is the son of retired politician and former chief cabinet secretary Yohei Kono, who authored a landmark 1993 apology to “comfort women” forced to work in Japanese military wartime brothels.

DEFENCE MINISTER ITSUNORI ONODERA

Mr Onodera, 57, was defence minister for roughly two years from December 2012, when Mr Abe returned to power and is seen as a safe pair of hands to take on the portfolio after predecessor Tomomi Inada stumbled with gaffes and missteps and was forced to quit less than a week before the reshuffle due to a cover-up scandal.

Mr Onodera headed a ruling LDP panel that has urged the government to acquire the ability to strike back at an enemy military facility and beef up its missile defence systems against threats such as from unpredictable North Korea’s missile and defence programmes.