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MORI LAUNCHES SECOND CABINET:
Two Ex-Prime Ministers Named to New Team
December 11, 2000
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Mori (bottom row, center) and his new cabinet. (Prime Minister's Office)
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On December 5, 2000, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori launched his second cabinet, reshuffling his ministers in preparation for the administrative realignment that will take place in January 2001. Mori retained former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa as Minister of Finance and tapped former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto as State Minister in charge of administrative reform/Okinawa and affairs related to the northern territory. As a result, two former prime ministers are among the faces in the new cabinet.
At a press conference on the same day, Mori set out how his second cabinet would approach its task: "As we enter the 21st century, we will work with all our strength to carry out structural reforms to society and the economy toward the rebirth of Japan. I want this to be a cabinet of action and responsibility." Specifically, Mori emphasized negotiations on concluding a Japan-Russia peace treaty, reform of education and the social security system, and the information technology revolution as areas where the new administration would make active efforts.
The 21 ministries that currently make up the central government will be reorganized into 12 ministries from January 6, 2001. Consequently, this reshuffle resulted in several cases of one cabinet minister taking charge of two or more ministries that will be merged in the reorganization.
Members of the new Mori cabinet are listed below (the names of the ministers are followed by their age, house membership, and major posts held to date):
Prime Minister
Yoshiro Mori (63)
Eleven-term member of the House of Representatives; Construction Minister; International Trade and Industry Minister; Education Minister; LDP Secretary General.
Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Minister
Toranosuke Katayama (65)
Two-term member of the House of Councillors; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Finance; Chairman of the Committee on Finance.
Justice Minister
Masahiko Koumura (58)
Seven-term member of the House of Representatives; Foreign Minister; Director General, Economic Planning Agency (State Minister); State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Minister
Yohei Kono (63)
Twelve-term member of the House of Representatives; Chief Cabinet Secretary (State Minister); Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
Finance Minister
Kiichi Miyazawa (81)
Two-term member of the House of Councillors and twelve-term member of the House of Representatives; International Trade and Industry Minister; Foreign Minister; Chief Cabinet Secretary (State Minister); Finance Minister; Prime Minister.
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister
Nobutaka Machimura (56)
Six-term member of the House of Representatives; Education Minister; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Education; State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister
Chikara Sakaguchi (66)
Eight-term member of the House of Representatives; Labor Minister; Chairman of New Komeito Policy Board.
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister
Yoshio Yatsu (66)
Five-term member of the House of Representatives; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Vice Chairman of the LDP Diet Affairs Committee.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister
Takeo Hiranuma (61)
Seven-term member of the House of Representatives; Transport Minister; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Finance.
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister
Chikage Ogi (67)
Four-term member of the House of Councillors; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Science and Technology; Chair of the Standing Committee on Education, Culture and Science.
Environment Minister
Yoriko Kawaguchi (59)
Former bureaucrat, Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
Chief Cabinet Secretary (State Minister)
Yasuo Fukuda (64)
Four-term member of the House of Representatives; State Secretary for Foreign Affairs; Chairman of the LDP Finance Committee.
National Public Safety Commission Chairman (State Minister)
Bunmei Ibuki (62)
Six-term member of the House of Representatives; Labor Minister; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Health and Welfare.
Defense Agency Director General (State Minister)
Toshitsugu Saito (55)
Five-term member of the House of Representatives; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Posts and Telecommunications; Chairman of the Local Administration Committee
State Minister in charge of Financial Affairs
Hakuo Yanagisawa (65)
Six-term member of the House of Representatives; Chairman of the Financial Reconstruction Commission (State Minister); State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
State Minister in charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy / IT Policy
Fukushiro Nukaga (72)
Six-term member of the House of Representatives; Director General, Defense Agency (State Minister); Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for International Trade and Industry.
State Minister in charge of Administrative Reform / Okinawa and Affairs related to Northern Territory
Ryutaro Hashimoto (63)
Thirteen-term member of the House of Representatives; International Trade and Industry Minister; Finance Minister; Transport Minister; Health and Welfare Minister; Prime Minister.
State Minister in charge of Council for Science and Technology Policy
Takashi Sasagawa (65)
Five-term member of the House of Representatives; Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Posts and Telecommunications; Director General of the International Affairs Bureau of the LDP.
 Copyright (c) 2000 Japan Information Network. Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.
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