$ B( A7 q; ^9 k2 @) l: l公仔箱論壇 ) i4 W- Q- ?0 l% z+ pTOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is reshuffling his Cabinet in a bid to win more cooperation from the opposition in raising the sales tax. $ a' } b m) `, `( C0 I. }His ministers resigned en masse Friday to pave the way for a new Cabinet to be formed later in the day. ( p4 a- p7 k# O9 J公仔箱論壇Public broadcaster NHK said Noda would retain 12 of 17 positions, including the finance and foreign ministers. 5 f! z2 ~, I7 u4 w2 ^The new lineup is expected to exclude two ministers who were criticized by the opposition for making inappropriate comments.5.39.217.762 x; O& g, L; J; Y8 q* X
Noda has promised to submit a bill in the next parliamentary session to raise the 5 percent sales tax to help rein in the country's bulging fiscal deficit.
