五名女性進入安倍新內閣

Five women have been named to Japan's new cabinet, underscoring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's commitment to better utilizing women to help revitalize the economy.

The new 18-member lineup has more female members than any Japanese cabinet since 2001. It includes more than the outgoing cabinet, which had just two female ministers.

Prime Minister Abe has said he wants women to make up 30 percent of Japan's political and business leaders by 2020, to help address Japan's worsening shortage of workers.

Before the move was announced Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said empowering women will be one of the "big pillars" of Mr. Abe's government.

Mr. Abe retained several key ministers, including Finance Minister Taro Aso, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

It is the first cabinet reshuffle for Mr. Abe, who has seen his popularity fall to around 50.五名女性被提名進入日本內閣，此舉凸顯了安倍晉三首相致力於更好地動員女性協助振興經濟。

在新內閣的18名成員中，女性人數是自2001年以來最多的。在即將卸任的內閣中，只有兩名女成員。

安倍首相曾經表示，他希望到2020年日本政界和企業界30%的領導人將由女性擔任，以幫助解決日本日益嚴重的勞動力短缺問題。

在星期三宣佈這一決定之前，日本內閣官房長官菅義偉說，賦予女性權力將是安倍政府的主要支柱之一。

安倍首相的幾名主要內閣成員留任，包括財務大臣麻生太郎、外交大臣安田文雄和官房長官菅義偉。

這是安倍晉三第一次改組內閣。安倍自2012年就任首相以來，民衆支持率從60%左右下降到50%左右。