Japan’s likely next prime minister will create a new Cabinet post to oversee national strategy and the economy, officials said yesterday, and quickly turn his attentions to proving himself on the diplomatic front — an area in which he is virtually untested.
Yukio Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections over the weekend, moved to cement a coalition with smaller allies so that he can more easily steer the national agenda.
He also met with top DPJ leaders of to ensure a smooth transition and discuss his Cabinet appointments.
Hatoyama was to formally replace Prime Minister Taro Aso of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a special session of parliament on Sept. 16, a lawmaker said.
His left-of-center party soundly defeated the conservative LDP, which had held power for virtually all of the past 54 years.
The Democrats now face a host of severe problems centered on rebuilding the world’s second-largest economy and dealing with record-high unemployment.
One of Hatoyama’s first moves will be to create a new Cabinet post to oversee fiscal policy and other top national strategy issues, a party lawmaker said. He is also expected to name one of the party’s most senior members to take the finance minister portfolio.
“The new post will be a key department that connects the prime minister directly with the entire Cabinet,” said Kenzo Fujisue, a DPJ lawmaker in charge of national security issues.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that Hatoyama would not make his decisions on the lineup public until the last minute.
Hatoyama will make his diplomatic debut at a UN General Assembly meeting and a G20 summit in Pittsburgh later this month. Japanese media said he would hold talks with US President Barack Obama during the trip.
Officials said US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was also planning to visit Tokyo next month to discuss the bilateral military alliance.
One of Hatoyama’s first challenges will be with Washington over a plan to move 8,000 US Marines off Okinawa, a plan that could cost Japan as much as US$10 billion. Some members of his party have balked at that price tag.
Hatoyama exchanged views on economic matters with Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa yesterday, while top finance bureaucrat Yasutake Tango met members of the party to discuss the agenda for a meeting of G20 finance ministers in London at the end of the week.
Outgoing Economics Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi yesterday warned about the risks of deflation and urged the new government to consider carefully its exit strategy from stimulus measures introduced to help Japan weather the global financial crisis.
Besides focusing spending on households, the Democratic Party has promised to reduce the power of bureaucrats, whose long hold over policy has been blamed for Japan’s inability to cope with deep problems such as a shrinking and rapidly ageing population.
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