Fukushima Aftermath Lands at Feet of Ex-PM’s Daughter
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Yuko Obuchi, the 40-year-old daughter of a former premier, was yesterday appointed Japan’s first female trade and industry minister, one of five women Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named to his new cabinet.
As Economy, Trade and Industry minister, Obuchi will oversee the government’s unpopular plan to restart nuclear reactors shuttered after the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima disaster, a policy that polls indicate is opposed by a majority of the nation’s women. She won her father Keizo Obuchi’s seat at the age of 26 when he died in office after less than two years as premier.