Japan PM shuffles cabinet to rescue tax hike plan

Yoshihiko Noda used a round of ministerial musical chairs to rid himself of two under-fire colleagues whose presence had threatened to scupper his legislative programme and sink plans to the hike consumption tax.

He also brought in a political heavyweight to help drive through the unpopular tax rise, which analysts of all stripes agree is needed if Japan is to get to grips with its huge debt, which stands at around 200 percent of GDP.

All cabinet ministers present at a morning meeting handed in a letter of resignation, but in a piece of political theatre, most were returned unopened, though five were replaced, among them the Defence Minister and the Consumer Affairs Minister. 

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a press conference Katsuya Okada, a former party chief, had been brought in as deputy prime minister, a position that previously did not exist, with responsibility for - among other things - reform of the social security and tax systems.

Okada, 58, is a former foreign minister, a former DPJ leader and one-time trade ministry technocrat known for his deep policy knowledge and strait-laced "Mr Clean" image.

Heavyweight posts including foreign minister and finance minister were unchanged.

With his approval ratings having slid since he took office in September, Noda is under pressure to do something to stop the rot if he is to avoid becoming the latest casualty of Japan's revolving door premiership, which saw his last five predecessors survive only a year each.

He needs the help of the opposition to pass a package of tax and social reform bills and see through his unpopular plan to raise consumer tax from five percent to eight percent in early 2014 and 10 percent in late 2015.

But petty politicking has looked set to derail the plan, with the opposition using the time-honoured technique of targeting individual ministers in a bid to undermine the premier in the highly factional world of Japanese public life.