Kan to reshuffle Cabinet on Friday, Yosano to join gov`t

TOKYO, Jan. 13 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Thursday he will form ''the most powerful''
Cabinet in a bid to overcome the crisis facing Japan, with the possibility
growing that Kaoru Yosano, a proponent of a consumption tax hike, will ally
with the embattled government after leaving a small opposition party.
Kan, faced with flagging approval ratings, said he will conduct a Cabinet
reshuffle on Friday, when he met with the press after the annual convention of
his Democratic Party of Japan, during which he appealed to party members not to
lose confidence in their efforts to reform Japan despite receiving criticism.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, Kan's right-hand man, will leave the
government, most likely to become acting leader of the DPJ, according to party
lawmakers.
Yukio Edano, currently serving as acting secretary general of the ruling party,
told reporters that he will succeed Sengoku.
Kan stopped short of mentioning the lineup of his new team at the news
conference. But he said that Yosano's stance on reforming the country's social
security system is ''largely in line with the DPJ's.''
The potential recruitment of Yosano is in part aimed at smoothing the way for
realizing cross-party talks on fiscal reconstruction.
Yosano, whose resignation from the Sunrise Party of Japan was accepted
Thursday, served as finance minister just before the DPJ rose to power in
September 2009. He is known as a fiscal conservative who advocates a
consumption tax hike to help restore Japan's tattered public finances.
Kan is considering offering Yosano a Cabinet post in charge of issues related
to tax and social security or fiscal policy, the lawmakers said, adding that he
could also be an adviser to the premier.
Kan said at the convention that tax and social security reforms, and other
pressing issues facing Japan need to be addressed by ''our generation'' and by
both the ruling and opposition parties.
''If opposition parties decide not to take part in debate by making various
excuses, it would not be too much to say that they are against the tide of
history,'' Kan said.
But it remains to be seen whether Yosano's assistance will pave the way for Kan
to work closer with the opposition camp, with many opposition lawmakers already
criticizing Kan's move to entice Yosano to the government.
''Trust in Kan's government is hitting rock bottom and there is no possibility
that the situation will improve dramatically,'' said Ichiro Aisawa, Diet
affairs chief of the Liberal Democratic Party.
''I want to devote the rest of my political life to Japan's future. If there is
anything I can do, I want to help (the government),'' Yosano said at a news
conference.
Yosano said he wants to work toward restoring the country's fiscal health,
reforming the social security system and promoting free trade.
The 72-year-old veteran was for many years a lawmaker of the LDP, before he
co-founded the tiny party following the DPJ's ascent to power.
When he was part of the LDP, which had an almost unbroken grip on power for
more than half a century, Yosano held central positions including chief Cabinet
secretary, trade minister and minister in charge of fiscal and economic issues.
With regard to other key government posts, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara,
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, national
policy minister Koichiro Gemba, who also serves as the DPJ's policy chief, and
internal affairs minister Yoshihiro Katayama will retain their posts, according
to the lawmakers.
It is widely expected that Financial Services Minister Shozaburo Jimi, a member
of the DPJ's coalition partner the People's New Party, will keep his post.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro
Fukuyama, who deal with diplomatic issues, will also stay on, but Kan is
considering replacing DPJ Diet affairs chief Yoshio Hachiro, the lawmakers
said.
The names of possible newcomers to the Cabinet floated by DPJ lawmakers include
Hachiro and Goshi Hosono, a former acting secretary general of the ruling
party.
Sengoku, speaking at a news conference, said his departure from the government
is ''inevitable'' if Kan needs to take into account the opposition camp's
demands.
The LDP and other opposition parties, which now control the House of
Councillors, have threatened to boycott Diet deliberations if Sengoku remains
in the Cabinet.
Sengoku, a key architect of government policies since Kan became prime minister
in June, and transport minister Sumio Mabuchi were censured by the upper house
last year when it passed nonbinding motions over their handling of diplomatic
issues.
Sengoku, the top government spokesman, also revealed that he has been asked by
the premier to secure the government ''full support from the DPJ.''
Edano is known as a close ally of Sengoku. He was secretary general of the DPJ
last year but was demoted to his current position after the party suffered a
stinging defeat in the upper house election in July.
Along with Sengoku, Mabuchi will also leave the Cabinet, the lawmakers said.
With the dismissal of Sengoku and Mabuchi increasingly likely, the LDP and the
New Komeito party, the second-largest opposition party, finally agreed with the
DPJ to hold a House of Representatives meeting Friday to decide on when to
convene the 150-day Diet session.
As a result, it is almost certain that the regular Diet session will be
convened on Jan. 24, after which the DPJ must win enough cooperation from the
opposition camp for the early passage of the fiscal 2011 budget and related
bills.
==Kyodo