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| Itsunori Onodera (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
Shinzo Abe is reportedly determined to appoint Itsunori Onodera, who used to serve as the Japanese Defense Minister in 2012-2014, as the new head of the Defense Ministry.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to appoint Itsunori Onodera, who used to serve as the Japanese Defense Minister in 2012-2014, as the new head of the Defense Ministry after the cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, the local media reported Tuesday, citing sources close to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The Kyodo news agency also said that Olympics minister Tamayo Marukawa was likely to leave the cabinet. Besides, it was added that Bunmei Ibuki, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, was offered a position of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, but rejected the offer.
In early July, Abe announced that he was planning to reshuffle the cabinet on August 3. The media reported that the move was aimed at restoring the public support of the ruling LDP party after the recent scandals over Abe's favoritism allegations and the party's defeat to the opposition party's candidates in mayoral elections in city of Sendai, in the northwestern Miyagi prefecture, and Tokyo metropolitan assembly election in July.
In May, the education ministry's internal documents leaked in the media, showing that the government was providing preferential confiding for opening of the new veterinary department of Kake Gakuen educational institution, run by Abe's friend Kotaro Kake. The media reports has been plunged into scandal with opposition leaders accusing Abe of instructing the government officials to lobby in favor of his friend's institution.
This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.