TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has chosen a woman as foreign minister, while the post of defense minister has gone to a politician who worked for rapprochement with Taiwan, according to the new composition of the government unveiled on Wednesday.
These choices highlight a more egalitarian and stronger face of Japan in terms of defense, while Fumio Kishida faces a decline in his popularity rating.
Yoko Kamikawa, former Minister of Justice who gave the final agreement for the execution of the main members of the Aum Shinrikyo sect, becomes Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In total, five women now make up the Japanese government, made up of 20 members, a level never equaled in Japan which nevertheless remains lower than the female representation observed in most other G7 countries.
Government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno also announced the appointment of Minoru Kihara, who belongs to a Japan-Taiwan interparliamentary group, as defense minister.
Minoru Kihara and Yoko Kamikawa will be tasked with managing relations with China, which have deteriorated since Japan began dumping treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
Minoru Kihara will also supervise the implementation of the plan to strengthen Japan’s military capabilities.
The choice of Minoru Kihara as defense minister “is not an anti-Chinese gesture, but it indicates proximity to Taiwan,” said Professor Takashi Kawakami, security expert at Takushoku University in Tokyo.
One political commentator, however, noted that these ministerial roles had lost importance in favor of dialogue with China at the highest level.
“All over the world, summit diplomacy has become the norm,” said Shigenobu Tamura, who worked for Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party.
According to a poll conducted last week by public broadcaster NHK, only 36% of Japanese respondents approved of the prime minister’s political action.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Sakura Murakami, Chang-Ran Kim and Kantaro Komiya; French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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