Japan’s Kishida shuffles Cabinet and party posts to solidify power

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has shuffled his Cabinet and party posts, in an apparent move to strengthen his position before a leadership vote next year. Support ratings for his government are sagging, and Kishida needs to stay on good terms with larger party factions to maintain his position before his three-year term as Liberal Democratic Party president expires in a year. Kishida appointed five women in his 19-member Cabinet, part of his attempt to buoy the sagging support ratings for his male-dominated Cabinet. He previously had two. The conservative LDP supports traditional family values and gender roles, and the omission of female politicians is often criticized as democracy without women.