![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: World: Asia-Pacific | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
Tuesday, 29 January, 2002, 19:00 GMT
Axe falls on Japanese foreign minister
![]() Tanaka, right, and her deputy have both been sacked
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has fired his controversial Foreign Minister, Makiko Tanaka, and her deputy.
Mr Koizumi said he was responsible for allowing the ministry's problems to affect the whole government and was therefore forced to act, describing the decision as "bitter" but "unavoidable". He added that the dispute should not be permitted to delay the passage of next year's budget.
But both Mr Nogami and the MP, Muneo Suzuki, denied it. The dispute has disrupted passage of the budget and is undermining the credibility of the administration. Late night call Mr Koizumi summoned Mrs Tanaka to his home late on Tuesday night to inform her of his decision.
Mr Koizumi has not yet indicated who might replace Mrs Tanaka. He paid tribute to her work at a late-night news conference: "Foreign Minister Tanaka has made great contributions but it was a bitter decision, which was unavoidable to normalise the situation." "I feel that the fact that the problems in the Foreign Ministry began to affect the entire government and parliamentary debate is my responsibility," he added. "That is why I made this decision." Tears At the height of the confrontation last week Mrs Tanaka broke down and cried, prompting Mr Koizumi to comment that tears were a woman's greatest weapon.
The BBC Tokyo correspondent, Charles Scanlon, says both Mr Koizumi and Mrs Tanaka are hugely popular with the public for pledging to reform a discredited political system. But Mrs Tanaka has faced dogged resistance from her officials and has received little support from cabinet colleagues. Organised leaks to the media have portrayed her as incompetent and arrogant. Anti-Tanaka stories have included:
But our correspondent says that, by not backing Mrs Tanaka, Mr Koizumi is risking damage to his own popularity. |
![]() |
![]()
![]() See also:
![]() Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Asia-Pacific stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more Asia-Pacific stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more Asia-Pacific stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |