Prime Minister Naoto Kan got off to a fresh start Friday, three days after his re-election as head of the Democratic Party of Japan in a contest with former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. He extensively reshuffled his Cabinet by replacing 10 of the 17 members. Before that, he installed new party executives.
The new setup of the Cabinet and DPJ leadership shows that Mr. Kan is determined to fulfill his job while shutting out the influence of Mr. Ozawa, a political heavyweight who had controlled the DPJ until his resignation in early June, together with that of then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, over political funds-related scandals.
But the path lying ahead for Mr. Kan will be rough. He has to tackle such tough issues as preventing a second dip in the economy and combating deflation against the backdrop of a strong yen, improving employment, reconstructing state finances and strengthening social welfare.