2003.09.22

Japan-Cabinet Profiles   These are the official bios of the 2nd Koizumi cabinet: Prime Minister Koizumi, Junichiro (61) (LDP) Ten-term member of the House of Representatives from Kanagawa-11; Prime Minister; Health and Welfare Minister (three times under the second Hashimoto, Uno, and Takeshita Cabinets); Posts and Telecommunications Minister; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Finance Keio University Born on January 8, 1942 Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Aso, Taro (63) (LDP) Seven-term member of the House of Representatives from Fukuoka-8; State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy; Chairman, LDP Policy Research Council; State Minister for Economic Planning; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Gakushuin University Born on September 20, 1940 Justice Minister Nozawa, Daizo (70) (LDP)* Three-term member of the House of Councillors (proportional representation); Chairman, House of Councillors Research Commission on the Constitution; Chairman, House of Councillors Committee on Audit; Director-General, LDP International Bureau; Chairman, House of Councillors Committee on Foreign Affairs University of Tokyo Born on May 6, 1933 Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, Yoriko (Ms) (62)** Foreign Minister; Environment Minister; Managing Director, Suntory Ltd.; Councillor, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of International Trade and Industry; Minister, Japanese Embassy in the U.S.A.; Director-General, Economic Cooperation Department, International Trade Policy Bureau, Ministry of International Trade and Industry University of Tokyo Born on January 14, 1941 Finance Minister Tanigaki, Sadakazu (58) (LDP) Seven-term member of the House of Representatives from Kyoto-5; Chairman, Financial Reconstruction Commission (State Minister); Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Finance; Director-General, Science and Technology Agency (State Minister); Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Administration University of Tokyo Born on March 7, 1945 Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Kawamura, Takeo (60) (LDP) Four-term member of the House of Representatives from Yamaguchi-3; Senior Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; LDP Deputy Chairman, Diet Affairs Committee Keio University Born on November 10, 1942 Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Sakaguchi, Chikara (69) (New Komeito)** Eight-term member of the House of Representatives (proportional representation, Tokai block); Health, Labor and Welfare Minister; Director, House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs; Labor Minister; Director, House of Representatives Committtee on Finance; President, Mie Blood Center; Doctor of Medicine Mie University Born on April 1, 1934 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Kamei, Yoshiyuki (67) (LDP)** Seven-term member of the House of Representatives from Kanagawa-16; Director-General, LDP Treasury Bureau; Chairman, LDP Political Reform Headquarters; Transport Minister; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Transport Keio University Born on April 30, 1936 Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Nakagawa, Shoichi (50) (LDP) Six-term member of the House of Representatives from Hokkaido-11; Chairman, LDP Public Relations Headquarters; Chairman, LDP Special Committee on Trade in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Products; Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Communications University of Tokyo Born on July 19, 1953 Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Ishihara, Nobuteru (46) (LDP) Four-term member of the House of Representatives from Tokyo-8; State Minister in charge of Administrative Reform; Director, House of Representatives Special Committee on Financial Stabilization; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of International Trade and Industry; political reporter, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) Keio University Born on April 19, 1957 Environment Minister Koike, Yuriko (Ms) (51) (LDP)* Three-term member of the House of Representatives from Hyogo-6; State Secretary for Economic Planning, Economic Planning Agency; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology Cairo University Born on July 15, 1952 Chief Cabinet Secretary (State Minister) and State Minister for Gender Equality Fukuda, Yasuo (67) (LDP)** Four-term member of the House of Representatives from Gunma-4; Chief Cabinet Secretary (State Minister); Director-General, LDP Treasury Bureau; Chairman, LDP Finance Committee; LDP Deputy Secretary-General; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Waseda University Born on July 16, 1936 Chairman, National Public Safety Commission (State Minister) and State Minister for Cultivation of Youth and Measures for Decreasing Birthrate, and Food Safety Ono, Kiyoko (Ms) (67) (LDP)* Three-term member of the House of Councillors (proportional representation); Chairman, House of Councillors Research Committee on Society of Cooperative Way of Life; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Environment; Chairman, House of Councillors Committee on Education, Culture and Science Tokyo University of Education (presently, University of Tsukuba) Born on February 4, 1936 Director General, Defense Agency (State Minister) Ishiba, Shigeru (46) (LDP)** Five-term member of the House of Representatives from Tottori-1; Senior Vice Minister for Defense; Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Transport; Chairman, House of Representatives Special Committee on Deregulation Keio University Born on February 4, 1957 State Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Protection of Personal Information, Science and Technology Policy, and Information Technology Motegi, Toshimitsu (47)* Three-term member of the House of Representatives from Tochigi-5; Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs; Member, LDP General Council; Acting Director, LDP Foreign Affairs Division; Member, House of Representatives Committee on Economy, Trade and Industry University of Tokyo Harvard University (Graduate School) Born on October 7, 1955 State Minister for Financial Services and Economic and Fiscal Policy Takenaka, Heizo (Dr) (52)** State Minister in charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy and Information Technology; Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio Univeristy; Member, Economic Strategy Council (advisory council established by late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi); Visiting Assistant Professor, Harvard University; Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Osaka University; Chief Researcher, Financial Research Institute, Finance Ministry; Japan Development Bank Hitotsubashi University Born on March 3, 1951 State Minister for Regulatory Reform, Industrial Revitalization Corporation, Administrative Reform, Special Zones for Structural Reform Kaneko, Kazuyoshi (60) (LDP)* Five-term member of the House of Representatives from Gifu-4; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Health and Welfare; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Construction Keio University Born on December 20, 1942 State Minister for Disaster Management and National Emergency Legislation Inoue, Kiichi (71) (New Conservative Party)* Five-term member of the House of Representatives from Hyogo-4; Chairman, New Conservative Party Policy Affairs Council; Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology; Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications University of Tokyo Born on May 24, 1932 2003.09.22

====================

Buying time. Tokyo dispatch: With his re-election as party leader, Junichiro Koizumi is a step closer to becoming Japan's longest-serving prime minister for 30 years, writes Jonathan Watts. [Guardian Unlimited] 2003.09.22

====================

Japanese School to Get Saudi-funded Chair for Islamic Studies   Since a Todai professor has been one of the middlemen involved in this, we suspect the chair may end up at Tokyo University.   2003.09.22

====================

Japan-Markets (Bloomberg)   Nikkei sees its biggest one-day drop in two years as yen rises two percent. 2003.09.22

====================

Japan-Cabinet (Mainichi)   Two criteria to be a member of the 2nd Koizumi cabinet: committment to reform and loyalty to Koizumi. 2003.09.22

====================

S.Korean Parliament Seeks Laws Recognizing Ex-Spies (Reuters). Reuters - South Korea's parliament is seeking legislation to recognize the status of former commandos trained to infiltrate North Korea on missions that were often tantamount to suicide raids, parliamentarians said on Monday. [Yahoo! News - World] 2003.09.22

====================

Japanese Leader Koizumi Names New Cabinet (AP). AP - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi named a new Cabinet Monday, replacing several key members — including his ailing finance minister — in a bid to consolidate his power and breathe new life into efforts to turn around Japan's sickly economy. [Yahoo! News - World] 2003.09.22

====================

Japan-Cabinet   Biggest surprise in the cabinet shuffle is that Yoriko Kawaguchi stays on as foreign minister. Also a relative unknown career politician and cabinet two-timer, Sadakazu Tanigaki, gets the plum finance ministry post. 2003.09.22

====================

Typhoon Choi-wan UPDATED   Typhoon Choi-wan, in the Pacific Ocean, is now veering away from Japan but near the Tohoku region. There are reports of some power outages in Chiba prefecture. 2003.09.22

====================

Japan to deploy drone fighter planes. Japan set to deploy drone fighter planes from 2004 Japan has already tested an early prototype unmanned drone modeled on the U.S.-made F-15 fighter jet, a project it began researching in the mid-1990s. The planes would be equipped with high-resolution cameras to conduct surveillance of suspicious ships off Japan's coast, and may even be armed, according to the report. [The Agonist] 2003.09.22

====================

Grand Canyon Crash (AP) UPDATED More details on this helicopter crash in which three Japanese died -- two passenger and the pilot -- out of a total of seven fatalities. 2003.09.22

====================

© Copyright 2006 The Taisho Cable & Wireless Company.