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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Japanese Prime Minister Noda reshuffles cabinet posts | Japanese Prime Minister Noda reshuffles cabinet posts |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has reshuffled his cabinet, replacing five members including two ministers responsible for a series of gaffes. | Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has reshuffled his cabinet, replacing five members including two ministers responsible for a series of gaffes. |
| Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Consumer Affairs Minister Kenji Yamaokase had been censured by the upper house over various remarks. | Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Consumer Affairs Minister Kenji Yamaokase had been censured by the upper house over various remarks. |
| Twelve posts, including finance and foreign minister, remained unchanged. | Twelve posts, including finance and foreign minister, remained unchanged. |
| Among the new appointees are former foreign minister Katsuya Okada as deputy PM to lead tax reforms. | Among the new appointees are former foreign minister Katsuya Okada as deputy PM to lead tax reforms. |
| Seen as a heavyweight, he will be tasked with building support for Mr Noda's proposal to double sales tax - Japan's equivalent of value added tax. | |
| This currently stands at 5% but Mr Noda says it must be raised to meet rising social security costs. | This currently stands at 5% but Mr Noda says it must be raised to meet rising social security costs. |
| The BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says the prime minister is hoping that by offering his two beleaguered cabinet members, he could win opposition support for his sales tax plan. | |
| Mr Ichikawa has now been replaced by Naoki Tanaka, husband of former foreign minister Makiko Tanaka. | |
| The outgoing defence minister had claimed he was unaware of the details regarding the 1995 gang-rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by three US servicemen in Okinawa - a remark for which he was censured by the opposition-controlled upper house. | |
| The opposition had threatened to reject any discussion about tax legislation unless Mr Ichikawa was replaced. | |
| Mr Yamaoka has now been replaced by Jin Matsubara. | |
| He had also been censured by the upper house for making inappropriate comments on financial issues. |