Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reshuffled his cabinet Monday to try to boost his popularity and bolster his ability to implement reforms, but the retention of several key ministers led some analysts to question whether he would succeed. 

Heizo Takenaka, a key architect of many of Koizumi's economic reforms, retained his portfolio in charge of macro-economics and assumed a new post in charge of reform of the postal system -- a centerpiece of Koizumi's agenda. But he gave up his portfolio in charge of financial services to his deputy, Tatsuya Ito.

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda all retained their posts.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who is not a member of parliament and had been criticized for her lack of clout, was replaced by Nobutaka Machimura, a former education minister who is close to the prime minister.

A relatively unknown politician, Yoshinori Ohno, 68, will take over as defense minister, a vital position as Japan tries to expand its global security role.

Koizumi needs to quash opposition inside his own party to reforms such as postal privatization and to boost his personal support ratings as he enters what are likely to be his last two years in office.

But some analysts questioned whether the new line-up would have the desired impact.

"There's nothing here," said Shigenori Okazaki, a political analyst at investment bank UBS.

Prior to the cabinet reshuffle, Koizumi unveiled a new line-up of executives in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but analysts were also cool to his choices of politicians who favor reform but could lack the clout to push it through.

Former Agriculture Minister Tsutomu Takebe was appointed LDP secretary-general, the LDP's second in command and the party's main election strategist.

Takebe is said to back postal reform but could be an easy target for opposition attacks. He came under heavy fire when he served as agriculture minister for his handling of Japan's first case of mad cow disease in 2001. Financial markets were unimpressed by the party appointments.

Media surveys earlier this month put Koizumi's public support at just over 40 per cent, a far cry from the dizzying 80 per cent he boasted when he took office.

Koizumi's decision in June to push through unpopular pension reforms that raised premiums and cut benefits hurt his support and benefited the opposition Democratic Party in July's upper house election.

Sending troops on a reconstruction mission to Iraq, the Japanese military's biggest and riskiest deployment since World War II, also dampened public enthusiasm for the prime minister.

Analysts said Koizumi had appeared to be running out of surprises and doubted whether the new appointments would improve his popularity ratings.

One of the biggest of Koizumi's past surprises was two years ago when he appointed Takenaka to the financial services post.

Takenaka produced a hard-line banking reform plan, triggering a steep stock market sell-off dubbed the "Takenaka shock."

Two years on, though controversy persists, Takenaka's program to make Japan's banks halve their non-performing loans by March 2005 is on track to meet its targets and some economists credit him with Japan's economic recovery.

Political blue-blood Taro Aso kept his post as minister of internal affairs and communications.

Kazuo Kitagawa, the 51-year-old policy chief of the Buddhist-backed New Komeito Party, the junior member of Japan's ruling coalition, was to take over the transport and land portfolio.

(China Daily September 28, 2004)