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PRIME MINISTER'S DIARY

Caption: Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks to the press following his second Cabinet reshuffle, January 14.
Credit: CABINET PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE

Second Kan Cabinet Reshuffle

Japanese


Ministers of the second reshuffled Kan Cabinet pose for a commemorative photograph after their first Cabinet meeting, January 14, 2011.
Credit: CABINET PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE
On January 14, Prime Minister Naoto Kan reshuffled his Cabinet for a second time, following his first shakeup of ministers on September 17, 2010. At the first meeting of the newly inaugurated Cabinet on the same day, the Basic Policies for the Second Reshuffled Kan Cabinet were decided.

"Regarding this year as the base year for launching a twenty-first-century opening up of Japan, we will aim for the Japanese people as a whole to be active internationally as occurred in the Meiji Restoration and in the postwar era, through trade liberalization and the revival of agriculture in which young people participate," the Cabinet stated in the Policies.

In addition, the Cabinet agreed that "in order to create a society in which the people can have hopes for the future, we will engage in good-faith efforts to rebuild in an integrated manner the economy, public finances, and the social security system while implementing the New Growth Strategy steadily and rapidly."

At a press conference held before the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Kan explained that the main purpose of his second reshuffle was to strengthen the Cabinet's capacity to overcome the critical situations facing Japan at this time, such as economic stagnation, worsening public finances and an unstable social security system.

"A major issue at present is a social security system regarding which we can have peace of mind going forward, meaning what modalities the system should take and, at the same time, how we can ensure sustainable fiscal resources for it. It will be necessary to hold discussions on these matters," Prime Minister Kan said.

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