Kishida replaces foreign, defence ministers

TOKYO, Sept 13: Japan's struggling Prime Minister Fumio Kishida named new foreign and defence ministers on Wednesday in a major reshuffle that raised the number of women in the cabinet to five.
Kishida's popularity and his standing within the ruling party have dived since he took office in October 2021, and many voters are not happy with his government's handling of the world's third-largest economy.
The 66-year-old will stand for re-election next year as president of the fractious Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated politics for decades, and experts said the cabinet reshuffle was an attempt to shore up his approval ratings.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi was replaced by Yoko Kamikawa, one of five women in the new cabinet.