Japanese premier reshuffles cabinet

Japanese prime minister Yoshihiko Noda replaced five members of his Cabinet today in a bid to win more co-operation from the opposition to raise the sales tax and rein in the country’s bulging fiscal deficit.

Two of the removed ministers had been censured by the opposition, including former Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa, who claimed he was unaware of the details of a 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three US servicemen on the island of Okinawa – an incident that continues to deeply impact local support for the large American troop presence there.