TOKYO -- Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, a dominant force in policymaking under Shinzo Abe, is set to see its influence diminished under new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Suga's appointments on Wednesday to top posts in the prime minister's office included the replacement of Takaya Imai, a former economy ministry bureaucrat, with an official hailing from outside Japan's political nerve center. Meanwhile, Hiroto Izumi, who has supported Suga for many years, was reappointed as a special adviser to the prime minister and will be entrusted with general policy coordination.
