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Japan's next PM Suga picks new cabinet roles for Kono and Kato
Abe successor to form government on Wednesday with many familiar faces.
Yoshihide Suga, the man poised to be Japan's next prime minister, has picked current Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato as chief cabinet secretary and Defense Minister Taro Kono to head administrative reform in his new cabinet expected to take office on Wednesday. After winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race on Monday, Suga is set to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and form a government Wednesday following a vote in the legislature and a ceremony at the Imperial Palace.
The position of chief cabinet secretary, which Suga long filled under Abe, serves as the prime minister's main tool for exercising control over the powerful bureaucracy, as well as the government's top spokesperson. Suga plans to name Nobuo Kishi, Abe's younger brother, to replace Kono as defense minister, Kishi's his first-ever cabinet post. Toshimitsu Motegi will stay on as foreign minister, as will Yasutoshi Nishimura as minister of state for economic and fiscal policy and point man for the government's coronavirus response. Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi; Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama; Education Minister Koichi Hagiuda and Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto are also expected to remain in their current roles. Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba, a member of ruling coalition partner Komeito will stay in place as well.
Suga is also set to reappoint Shigeru Kitamura, a former top intelligence officer whom Abe picked as national security adviser last year.
These and other choices for top positions signal a focus on continuity from Abe's tenure. Like Suga and returning Finance Minister Taro Aso, Kato is one of a handful of officials to have remained in Abe's cabinet through multiple reshuffles. "I want to bring together capable individuals who have a desire for reform, and build a cabinet that will work for the people," Suga told reporters Monday. Suga met with Kato at a Tokyo hotel Tuesday night to sound him out about the chief cabinet secretary role. "If you are willing to choose me, I will make sure not to let you down," Kato reportedly said.
Kato served as deputy chief cabinet secretary for nearly three years from when Abe began his second stint as prime minister in December 2012. He was later tapped as state minister for some of Abe's top policy priorities, such as resolving the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea. As health minister, he played a central role in the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Suga's plans for a new agency to coordinate digital policy will be led by Takuya Hirai, a former minister for information technology policy under Abe, now returning to the government to cover digital affairs. Ryota Takeda, currently chair of the National Public Safety Commission, will become the new communications minister. Yoko Kamikawa, who served as justice minister in a previous Abe cabinet, will return to that role. Suga will also bring back Norihisa Tamura as health, labor and welfare minister, a post he held in the first cabinet of Abe's second stint as prime minister.
The new cabinet will feature a handful of first-time cabinet members besides Kishi, including Kotaro Nogami, a former deputy chief cabinet secretary, as agriculture minister.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-after-Abe/Japan-s-next-PM-Suga-picks-new-cabinet-roles-for-Kono-and-Kato
Just a procedural/administrative thing to pave way for the changes voted on yesterday
MALT78 USAFSOC C-32B heading across the pond after ground stop at Bangor, ME-prior stops at Birmingham Int'l, AL and MacDill AFB, Tampa FL with an origin of McGuire AFB this morning
ahh like since the start