In a last-minute twist after initial reports hinted at only minor adjustments in his Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday replaced key figures while keeping a handful of veterans and rivals in their positions and boosting the female presence in the Cabinet and ruling party executive team.
¡°This Cabinet is a Cabinet that gains power from change,¡± Kishida said at a news conference on Wednesday evening after the reshuffle, adding that he had chosen ministers with solid capabilities in three key areas ¡ª the economy, social policy, and diplomacy and security.
Among the more stunning moves was Kishida¡¯s decision to have former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa replace Yoshimasa Hayashi, a close ally of Kishida, as foreign minister, making Kamikawa just the third woman to hold the post of top diplomat after Makiko Tanaka and Yoriko Kawaguchi, who served under then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
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