Report No.230102

NEWS

- Domestic -

Mineichi Iwanaga Appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, on August 11, appointed Mineichi Iwanaga (HR, elected for the third term from 4th district of Shiga prefecture), Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to fill the post vacated by the former minister Yoshinobu Shimamura. Mr. Shimamura was dismissed from the post for opposing a proposed cabinet decision to disolve the House of Representatives in the wake of defeat of postal service privatization related bills. Minister Iwanaga emphasized the importance of pushing ahead with agriculture policy reforms, saying "I want to establish agriculture people can make ends meet from and engage in with a sense of pride by concentrating policy investment and farmland in the hands of cores who are efficient and capable."

The post of agriculture minister had temporarily been assumed by the prime mnister. However, the quick appointment seem to have been made taking into consideration a prospect that it will be more than a month before a new cabinet will be launched after the general election, and that G-5 agriculture ministers were to meet from August 19 in Australia to discuss about agriculture negotiations under WTO and also that talks could be held on BSE issues then.

Minister Iwanaga listed as priorities the concrete designing of farm business management stabilization measures, the nurturing of core farmers, the enhancement food self-sufficiency rate and propagation of food awareness education, promotion of agricultural exports, reform of JA ZENNOH and WTO negotiations in agriculture, saying "I will do all I can to solve these problems."

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