Japanese PM picks Edano as new trade Minister

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda picked former chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano as the country''s new Economy, Trade and Industry Minister on Monday. On Saturday, the trade minister, Yoshio Hachiro, resigned from his post for making inappropriate remarks about radiation contamination in Fukushima Prefecture. This came only 8 days after Noda launched his Cabinet, according to Japanese (NHK WORLD). Edano, aged 47, is currently serving his 6th term in the Lower House. The former lawyer was elected to the Diet for the first time in 1993. After the Democratic Party came into power in 2009, Edano rigorously screened government projects to cut spending. In February last year, then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama appointed Edano as Government Revitalization Minister. It was Edano''s first Cabinet post. He later became the governing Democratic Party''s secretary general. While serving as Chief Cabinet Secretary since January, Edano led the government''s efforts to cope with the Fukushima nuclear accident.