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Koizumi defies past in choosing his cabinet
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TOKYO--The new Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, made good Thursday on his bold campaign pledge to steer clear of political factions, naming one of the most eclectic cabinets ever in this country. It includes five women, one of whom will be the nation's first female foreign minister.
But Mr. Koizumi's choices immediately raised the prospect of trouble within his own party because he has broken the longtime practice of awarding ministerial appointments on the basis of factional strength.
In a 17-member government, only six of Mr. Koizumi's cabinet choices came from the Liberal Democratic Party's three main factions; three were from the faction that Mr. Koizumi abandoned at the start of his campaign.
Mr. Koizumi's appointments reflected a conspicuous effort to reach new constituencies. In addition to the five women, he included people from the private sector and younger Liberal Democratic politicians frustrated with their party's seniority system.
The appointments immediately raised the ire of many in the Liberal Democratic Party's so-called mainstream factions. "They are already so peeved at Koizumi, especially Hashimoto and Kamei," said Kenji Kobayashi, a member of Parliament from the opposition Democratic Party. "They are really complaining. Just yelling at each other." The factions of former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Shizuka Kamei, a former police official, two of the Liberal Democratic Party's three dominant factions, were given a scant three posts between them.
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