Koike refuses to back down
08/16/2007
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Defense Minister Yuriko Koike came out swinging Wednesday by vowing to stick to her resolve to replace Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya--unless she herself is replaced in the Cabinet reshuffle expected on Aug. 27.
Koike's decision to replace Moriya with Tetsuya Nishikawa, chief of the Defense Ministry secretariat, triggered a feud with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, who vetoed the move.
"I oversaw personnel changes when I was an environment minister," Koike told a news conference after the morning Cabinet meeting. "I have not made any mistake in terms of protocol."
Koike added that she had apologized to Shiozaki over the matter, explaining that he "felt displeased" after the planned personnel change was reported before it was finalized.
Moriya also got angry because he had not been informed of his replacement.
Koike said she had phoned Moriya twice on the issue.
She also criticized Moriya for his generally tepid response to her phone calls.
"It often happened that I called his cellphone at night and he called me back the next morning," she said. "I don't think that's right from the viewpoint of crisis management."
Koike said she wanted to settle the issue as soon as possible, expressing concern that morale may deteriorate among Defense Ministry bureaucrats because of confusion over the personnel change.(IHT/Asahi: August 16,2007)(214 words)