AFP
Friday, Sep 02, 2011
TOKYO - Sharp-tongued former political journalist Jun Azumi will go into battle as Japan's new finance minister against a punishingly strong yen, ballooning public debt and a moribund economy.
A relative unknown to financial markets, the 49 year-old is expected to maintain predecessor Yoshihiko Noda's drive for fiscal reform to help pay for post-disaster reconstruction costs and pare down a debt twice the size of the economy.
Born in 1962 to the family of a town mayor, the nation's fourth-youngest postwar finance minister hails from Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture, a fishing community hit heavily by the March earthquake and tsunami.
The media-savvy father-of-two is known for his regular appearances on political discussion programmes, which continued even after being named a deputy defence chief a year ago. He became the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's Diet affairs' chief in January.
Azumi cut his teeth on the debating team of the elite Waseda University in Tokyo, a known grooming ground for high profile journalists and politicians.
He won his first national parliamentary seat in 1996, and has said his political aspirations were borne out of frustration with the lack of ambulances in rural towns and his time spent reporting on corruption as a journalist.
His appointment as finance minister comes as Japan has just registered its third straight quarter of economic contraction.
The slowdown - partially a product of an ageing society and a structurally inefficient economy - is exacerbated by a soaring yen and debt levels more than double the nation's $5 trillion (S$6.02 trillion) GDP.
Along with other ministers given economic portfolios, the choice of Azumi reflects Noda's "firm resolve" to improve Japan's shabby fiscal standing, said national broadcaster NHK, for which Azumi worked as a reporter from 1985-1993.
Azumi is likely to face tough political fights. Fiscal hawk Prime Minister Noda has voiced support for tax hikes, despite loud resistance from both ruling and opposition lawmakers amid concerns such a move could hit already anaemic growth.
The rocketing yen last month registered a post-war high against the dollar and continues to bubble along at uncomfortably high levels as traders seek shelter in the safe haven currency from uncertainty in Europe and the US.
An expensive yen hurts Japanese exporters, the nation's main economic drivers, by making their products more expensive overseas, prompting fears that companies may accelerate efforts to shift more production and jobs abroad.
Noda, as finance minister, intervened three times to sell the yen and drive down its value, but with only limited success. The markets will be waiting to see how Azumi will handle the problem.
Source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20110902-297430.html
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