Noda to reshuffle Cabinet to court opposition support for tax hike

10:04, 4 June 2012

TOKYO. June 4. KAZINFORM Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will reshuffle his Cabinet on Monday in a crucial bid to court the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's support for securing parliamentary passage of contentious legislation to raise the sales tax in Japan.

photo: QAZINFORM

It is the second time for Noda to reshuffle his Cabinet since he assumed office in September, the last time coming in January in a similar attempt to push forward talks on the tax issue with the opposition camp by replacing two ministers censured by the opposition-controlled House of Councillors in December, Kyodo reports.

Bowing again to opposition pressure, Noda is expected to replace several Cabinet members, including Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka, and Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda, both of whom were censured in the upper house in April.