TOKYO (PTI): The Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa dropped 18 ministers from his 21-member cabinet Dec.11 in a bid to improve the popularity of his government.
The foreign minister Michio Watanabe who is also the deputy prime minister is among the three retained. ‘
Miyazawa will present his new cabinet to Emperor Akihito Saturday morning for its attestation
The prime minister brought back ‘veteran Masaharu Gotoda as justice minister to take charge of a series of corruption trials and investigations involving to pranking ruling party leaders including the former premier Noboru Takeshita.
Miyazawa also named Yoshiro Hayashi to replace Tsutomu Hata in the finance ministry Hata immediately after tendering resignation announced the formation of a new faction within the governing liberal Democratic Party splitting the erstwhile powerful Takeshita group.
Yoshiro Mori is the international trade and industry minister in the new cabinet.
The only woman minister in the Government will be Mayumi Moriyama in charge of education. Miyazawa’s chief cabinet secretary or chief of staff will be Yohei Kono a political turncoat who had left the ruling party a few years ago to form his own political outfit which eventually failed.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1992
