Japan's new PM retains many of Hatoyama's ministers

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet members walk to a photo session Tuesday after his new government was inaugurated by Japanese Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

By Li Jing

New Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan formed his cabinet Tuesday, retaining 11 out of 17 ministers who served in Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet.

Those retained include Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, all of whom were involved in the delicate task of relocating a US airbase in Okinawa that provoked Hatoyama's downfall, Kyodo News said Tuesday.

"I believe that the role of politics is to create a society that minimizes factors that make people unhappy at home and around the world," Kan, As the fifth Japanese prime minister since 2006, said at his inaugural news conference.

After announcing the cabinet lineup, Yoshito Sengoku, the chief Cabinet secretary and the new top government spokesman, said, "Kan, as prime minister and leader of the Democratic Party (DPJ), appointed these ministers with the aim of creating a government that is fresh, professional, clean and can govern effectively."

Kan has made it clear that "continuity" in the DPJ is vital for the party to consolidate its power in the upper house election in July.

He also confirmed that the DPJ and the People's New Party would remain coalition partners, Kyodo News reported.

Liu Jiangyong, deputy director at the Institute of International Studies of Tsinghua University, said that the new cabinet represents Kan's inten-tion to move away from the errors of Hatoyama, such as political funding scandals, and to further rejuvenate the DPJ's image and improve its performance in the upcoming elections.

As for Kan's alleged cancelation of a visit to China this week, Beijing said it had not received a formal briefing from Tokyo on this matter yet.

Agencies contributed to this story