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Japan's tax bill prompts cabinet reshuffle
Posted 4 June 2012, 19:30 AEST
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has reshuffled his cabinet, after bowing to opposition pressure for ministerial scalps.
Mr Noda named five new ministers and called on the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to give their backing to a bill that would eventually double sales tax and help partially plug（堵住） a gaping budgetary hole.
"I decided to reshuffle and strengthen the cabinet so as to create an environment that enables progress in issues including an overall reform of social security and tax," Mr Noda said.
He has staked his premiership on the sales tax, a move international bodies, academics and journalists all agree is a sensible measure in the battle to overhaul Japan's debt mountain, which currently stands at around twice GDP.
Part of the proceeds would be used to finance snowballing social security costs resulting from Japan's rapidly greying society.
But in the highly factionalised world of Japanese politics, Noda has been left trying to placate（安抚） an opportunist（机会主义） opposition after failing to secure the backing of one of his own party's key powerbrokers.
Democratic Party of Japan powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa（小泽一郎）, who leads around 100 politicians, has set his stall firmly against the tax rise, which he sees as politically unacceptable.
Paying the price
Some of Monday's sackings were part of the price Mr Noda must pay if he wants cross-party backing for his bill.
"Toward the end of the current parliamentary session, we will face a crucial decision that will affect the future of Japan," he said.
"I call for all the politicians, on both sides of the house, to take these proposals seriously," he said, adding the bill would come before the lower house before the parliamentary session ends on June 21.
Defence minister Naoki Tanaka and transport minister Takeshi Maeda lost their jobs after both being censured by the opposition-controlled upper house in April.
Mr Noda named Takushoku University professor Satoshi Morimoto, a well-known commentator and regular on television talk shows, as new defence minister, while the new transport minister will be his party's upper house affairs chief Yuichiro Hata.
Mr Morimoto is the first non-parliamentarian in a Noda cabinet.
An advocate of a closer security alliance with the United States, Mr Morimoto has said Japan's Self-Defense Forces should actively participate in peacekeeping missions abroad, once a sensitive issue in Japan.
Mr Noda also sacked agriculture minister Michihiko Kano, whose involvement -- albeit（尽管） at several steps removed -- in a spy scandal that allegedly（据称） saw sensitive documents passed to a Chinese diplomat, has proved an embarrassment.
Justice minister Toshio Ogawa, who has been criticised by the LDP for consulting horse racing websites on his mobile phone during a parliamentary session, and postal services Minister Shozaburo Jimi were also removed.
Mr Noda named former vice agriculture minister Akira Gunji as new agriculture minister, vice judicial affairs minister Makoto Taki as justice minister, and vice reconstruction minister Tadahiro Matsu*****a as postal services minister.
notes:
1.cabinet reshuffle 内阁重组
shuffle vt.（n) 洗牌
reshuffle vt.（n) 重组，重新洗牌
2.bow to 屈服于
3.ministerial scalps 部长革职
4.On the heels of Fitch's sovereign credit downgrade to A plus (the fifth-highest investment grade), Japan's government debt continues to swell(膨胀）. With its debt at over 200% of its GDP, the Land of the Rising Sun appears to be embarking on a trek into the debt-laden unknown.
5.参考
绸缪日本债务危机http://news.hexun.com/2012-06-04/142089482.html
6.相关报道
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/world/asia/japans-prime-minister-reorganizes-cabinet.html?_r=1&ref=asia
my comment:
To be honest, Japan's economy once was a miracle. There's a gap between China's economy and Japan's. China's population is about 10 times of Japan's and the GDP per capita is only 1/10 of Japan's. However, we have many similarities. Japan's economy offers a good template for our country to use as a reference. Nowadays, China and Japan is closely related in economy, particularly in trade and high-tech. In the future, the relation is likely to be deepened.
Someone describe Japan's debt as "the domino that never fall", it's very humorous but exact. We have to notice that the risk are still exist. The swell debt has a snowball effect to drag Japan's economy. China has bought more Japanese government bonds, which is only relatively safe.
I greatly appreciate your opinion about the relevant issue.
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