Yukio Hatoyama, the Japanese prime minister, limps from one problem to the next. Elected only in September, he has already been damaged by two funding scandals, a spat over the deployment of US troops on Okinawa and rumours about who really controls his party. This week’s setback was a cabinet reshuffle, forced by the illness of a senior minister.
Hirohisa Fujii, the 77-year-old finance minister, resigned this week after a recent hospitalisation. Naoto Kan, the deputy prime minister, will replace him, taking on the task of breathing fresh life into Japan’s wheezing economy.