Junichiro Koizumi, the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected Japan's 56th prime minister in the Diet on Thursday and immediately inaugurated his new Cabinet.
The key foreign ministry portfolio went to Makiko Tanaka, a strong Koizumi supporter, while the finance portfolio went to another prominent backer of the new prime minister, Masajuro Shiokawa.
The first Koizumi Cabinet, which he has dubbed a "national salvation" government, includes five female ministers and three nonpoliticians -- the largest number of each in the postwar era.