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Japan's Prime Minister May Shake Up Cabinet in December
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is leaning toward shaking up his Cabinet in December, replacing as many as five of the nation's 17 ministers, a newspaper reported Saturday in Tokyo.
Koizumi is expected to name a new Cabinet after the current Diet session ends on Dec. 7 and before parliament reconvenes in January, the nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper said, citing government and ruling party officials it didn't identify by name.
Makiko Tanaka, the outspoken foreign minister, is seen as most likely to be replaced, the paper said.
Koizumi reportedly considered ousting Tanaka in August after she argued with him over the appointment of a new ambassador to the United States.
Tanaka's spat with the prime minister followed several diplomatic gaffes, including her decision earlier this year to skip a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who was in Tokyo to discuss US plans to develop a missile shield.
Koizumi is also under pressure to replace Hakuo Yanagisawa, the financial services minister, for resisting plans to use public funds to help Japan's ailing banks write off a mountain of loans gone bad, Japan's largest daily said.
Agriculture Minister Tsutomu Takebe will also likely be replaced amid a public outcry over his ministry's failure to prevent mad cow disease from entering the country, the Yomiuri said. Asia's first case of the sickness _ which is thought to cause a fatal strain in humans who eat infected meat _ was confirmed here last month,
Others seen as vulnerable are Transport Minister Chigake Ogi and Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, holdovers who served in the previous government led by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the paper said.
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