Following the Reconstruction Design Council's submission last weekend of proposals for the reconstruction of areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear disaster, Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday appointed Mr. Goshi Hosono, one of his aides, as minister to deal with the nuclear crisis, and made disaster management minister Ryu Matsumoto minister in charge of the reconstruction, both posts newly created.
Mr. Kan also made a move that will most likely backfire. He appointed Liberal Democratic Party Upper House member Kazuyuki Hamada as internal affairs parliamentary secretary in charge of the reconstruction.
This action will harden the LDP's attitude and make Diet deliberations on measures for the reconstruction extremely difficult. It even alienated some Democratic Party of Japan leaders, including the DPJ's Diet affairs committee chief Jun Azumi.