Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TOKYO3968
2007-08-27 13:01:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

JAPAN'S ABE CHOOSES VETERANS, PLAYS IT SAFE IN NEW

Tags:  PGOV PREL JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 003968 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO USTR/MBEEMAN.

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/08/26
TAGS: PGOV PREL JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN'S ABE CHOOSES VETERANS, PLAYS IT SAFE IN NEW
CABINET

Classified By: Classified by CDA Joseph R. Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b,d
)

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 003968

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO USTR/MBEEMAN.

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2017/08/26
TAGS: PGOV PREL JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN'S ABE CHOOSES VETERANS, PLAYS IT SAFE IN NEW
CABINET

Classified By: Classified by CDA Joseph R. Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b,d
)


1. (C) Prime Minister Abe, avoiding criticism levied against
his first cabinet that it was "friends of Abe," has filled
his new cabinet and party leadership with seasoned
politicians. The appointment of veteran lawmakers and
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) insiders will help Abe
maintain political balance in the LDP as well as help him go
up against the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and
its leader Seiji Ozawa. The new line-up is likely to bolster
public confidence in the Abe administration and improve his
poll numbers. His selections for the Cabinet and LDP leaders
still include friends, but all of the major posts were filled
with former or returning Cabinet members who bring a wealth
of experience: Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano, Foreign
Minister Nobutaka Machimura, Finance Minister Fukushiro
Nukaga, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari,
Education Minister Bunmei Ibuki, Defense Minister Masataka
Komura, Land Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, LDP Secretary
General Taro Aso, LDP General Affairs Council Chairman
Toshihiro Nikai, and LDP Policy Research Council (PARC)
Chairman Nobuteru Ishihara. Septel provides a complete list
of new Cabinet members and their biographies.


2. (C) Embassy Tokyo contacts have indicated that Foreign
Minister Machimura is unlikely to make major changes at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs because he takes his cue from the
bureaucrats. Defense Minister Komura is expected to perform
well given his experience as Foreign Minister in the Obuchi
administration, but his detractors wonder whether he will
again come under the influence of the ministries'
bureaucrats. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yosano is expected to
provide "adult supervision" of Abe because of his substantial
knowledge and close relations with Japan,s political and
economic elites.


3. (SBU) In his Cabinet choices Abe managed to achieve
near-perfect factional balance. Every faction except that of
his rival Sadakazu Tanigaki has at least one member in the
Cabinet. Abe also included two members from the private
sector, two independents, one New Komeito representative and
an Upper House member. Excluding Abe himself, the largest
Machimura faction as well as the Tsushima, Yamazaki, and Koga
factions have two members each, and the Ibuki, Nikai, and
Komura factions each have one.


4. (C) One concern is that although Abe has chosen
politicians with seniority and strong political credentials,
the Cabinet lacks cohesion. Former Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi,s policy advisor Isao Iijima, who was strongly
critical of Abe,s first Cabinet, told the Embassy that some
of Abe,s choices were admirable but there was no sense of
unity. Faction leaders Machimura and Komura, for example,
may find it difficult to work well together because of their
dominant personalities.
DONOVAN