CRI听力:Japan's PM Picks Successors to Resigned Ministers

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has appointed Yoichi Miyazawa as trade minister to replace Yuko Obuchi who quit the post early today.

Abe has named Yoko Kamikawa as justice minister to replace Midori Matsushima who also resigned Monday.

The prime minister has apologised to the country for the resignations.

"I was the one who chose both of them, and so the responsibility is with me as Prime Minister as the one who chose them. As such, I would like to deeply apologise to the citizens of the nation."

Obuchi and Mastushima have stepped down due to a political funding scandal.

They are among the five women Abe appointed to Cabinet-level posts in a reshuffle last month.

The Prime Minister has set a goal of having women in 30 percent of leadership positions in both the private and public sectors by 2020.

Researcher from China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, Liu Junhong, says the strategy has not been managed well.

"Take a look at the performance of the five female ministers, three of them visited the Yashukuni Shrine, and two resigned. So the strategy of using women has become a heavy blow to Abe himself."

Liu adds that the two scandals will likely dent the prime minister's popularity, which could trigger conflicts within his own party.

"Now the Liberal Democratic Party is ruling predominantly in Japan, so it's not a big issue that the popularity drops a little. It won't lead to the resignation of Abe. But the problem is, if the support rate stays low, it will trigger a fierce conflict within the party, and further affect his administration."

Local media revealed that the support for Abe's cabinet dropped 6.8 percentage points from September to 48.1 percent.