Chairs reshuffled in Fukuda Cabinet

Familiar faces marked the launch of the Fukuda Cabinet on September 25. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda retained 13 of 17 ministers from the cabinet of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, whose sudden resignation immediately followed the APEC leaders' summit in Sydney. Shigeru Ishiba, who had served as director-general of the Defense Agency under Junichiro Koizumi, was named defense minister. Kisaburo Tokai gained his first cabinet post as education minister, Nobutaka Machimura was named chief cabinet secretary while his former role as foreign affairs minister was filled by Masahiko Koumura. Fukushiro Nukaga remains as finance minister. The new Cabinet faces difficult challenges with pension system reform, the severe gap between rich and poor and revision of the Political Funds Control Law. Extension of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures legislation, which includes the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, also remains controversial. Yasuo Fukuda is the eldest son of a former prime minister, the late Takeo Fukuda - the first such father-son combination in Japan.