Ryu Matsumoto to be Japan's quake reconstruction minister+

TOKYO, June 24 Kyodo -
Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto will take up the new ministerial post in charge of reconstructing areas ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday.
''I will dedicate all my physical and spiritual strength to the victims of the disaster,'' Matsumoto, who is now also state minister for disaster management, told reporters, adding he will step down as environment minister once the appointment, expected for Monday, goes ahead.
Kan told reporters the appointment of Matsumoto, who has played a key role in coordinating relief measures since March, is aimed at ''seamlessly'' reconstructing the devastated areas.
Matsumoto said Kan is still making arrangements for someone to take over from him at the Environment Ministry.
Matsumoto was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 from a constituency in Fukuoka Prefecture. The 60-year-old is now in his seventh term in the lower house and has been serving in the two ministerial posts from last September.
The post of reconstruction minister was created after the law outlining the basic framework for reconstructing areas in northeast Japan became effective Friday.
After the current Diet session was extended this week to the end of August, Kan is exploring the possibility of a small-scale Cabinet reshuffle, according to lawmakers close to the premier.
But Kan was advised Thursday by Shizuka Kamei, leader of the People's New Party, the junior partner in the ruling coalition, to carry out a major Cabinet reshuffle to enhance his administration when he appoints Matsumoto to the new post.
Kamei quoted Kan as saying that the premier is ''considering'' his recommendation.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, asked about Kamei's request, said, ''There should be many opinions. The premier will decide what to do after hearing many opinions given that this kind of issue is subject to his exclusive authority.''
''So far, I haven't received any specific instruction from the premier'' with regard to a Cabinet reshuffle, the top government spokesman said at a news conference.
Edano also said Kan is expected to hold a news conference after the new minister's appointment.
Kan has not held a news conference since early June when he showed readiness to quit once a certain level of progress is made rebuilding the disaster-struck areas and containing the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Not many in the Democratic Party of Japan, headed by Kan, are keen about seeing a major Cabinet reshuffle, considering the premier is registering low levels in public opinion polls and has expressed his intention to step down in the not-so-distant future.
''Based on common sense, I can't think about a drastic Cabinet reshuffle,'' Koichiro Gemba, state minister for national policy, told a news conference.
Under the Cabinet Law, the number of ministers, excluding the prime minister, must not exceed 17. There are already 17 ministers so if none of them concurrently serves environment minister, at least one Cabinet member needs to leave.
In conjunction with the appointment of the new minister, Edano suggested that the government's headquarters for rebuilding the disaster-stricken areas will also likely be launched next Monday.
The headquarters, to be joined by all Cabinet members, will have three local task forces in the most severely affected prefectures -- Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. The head of each entity will be picked at the same time as the minister, according to Edano.
The law will also enable the establishment of a new government agency to take sole charge of reconstruction measures. Until the establishment of the agency, expected next year, the headquarters will play a pivotal role in drawing up and arranging reconstruction measures.
==Kyodo