Japan's tough female defense minister is about to be replaced?

Japanese media reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has likely chosen a former defense minister to replace Tomomi Inada after a series of scandals.

Ms. Tomomi Inada, Minister of Defense of Japan. Photo: Reuters

According to Reuters news agency, recently Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada fell into a scandal related to allegations that she was the one who directly instructed her subordinates to cover up information about the report of the Japanese mission participating in the UN peacekeeping operation in South Sudan.

Although Ms. Inada has denied all allegations and directed an investigation into the scandalous information raised by the media, it seems that she will not be able to keep her seat after this scandal and a series of other mistakes that have been criticized in recent times.

Japan's Kyodo news agency said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has considered choosing another person who has served as defense minister to replace Ms. Inada.

A reshuffle of Mr Abe's cabinet is expected early next month.

Among the potential candidates to replace Ms. Inada, Mr. Itsunori Onodera, former defense minister for nearly 2 years since 2012, the time Mr. Abe returned to power, has emerged. This is a figure considered trustworthy enough for Mr. Abe to "choose the right person to entrust gold" at this time.

The scandal of concealing information about Japanese troops participating in UN peacekeeping operations in South Sudan also forced General Toshiya Okabe, Chief of Staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force, to resign.

Ms. Tomomi Inada, 58 years old, was appointed as Japan's Minister of Defense in August 2016.

Ms. Inada, a lawyer and lawmaker for 11 years, is the second woman to serve as Japan's defense minister.

The first was Ms. Yuriko Koike, who served as Defense Minister for a short time in 2007 and was later elected Governor of Tokyo.

Ms. Inada was discovered by Mr. Abe when she spoke at a ruling party meeting about Japan's war crimes in 2005.

She argued that the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal) established after World War II distorted Japan's responsibility for the war./.

According to Tuoi Tre