Japan PM eyes cabinet reshuffle to gain tax support

TOKYO (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda may jettison two controversial cabinet ministers to secure opposition support for an ambitious tax increase proposal, the Asahi newspaper said on Monday.

Noda’s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) faces a major hurdle in getting opposition support in the upper house of parliament, where it lacks a majority, to pass its tax reform legislation.

The plan, under a draft proposal, calls for hikes in Japan’s social security and tax systems, including a two-step increase in the sales tax to 10 percent from the current 5 percent.

In order to win support, Noda may replace Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Consumer Affairs minister Kenji Yamaoka, the newspaper said, after they were both censured by the opposition Liberal Democratic party last month.

Asahi said the reshuffle could be carried out as early as this week.

A Kyodo News poll showed on Sunday that public support for Noda’s cabinet fell to 35.7 percent from 44.6 percent in the previous month, with more than half of the respondents expressing disapproval for the first time since Noda took office in September.



The poll also found that the public approval rating for the DPJ led by Noda fell to 20.7 percent while support for the Liberal Democrats rose to 22.4 percent.