Embattled Japanese Prime Minister picks new foreign minister

Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan promoted a junior cabinet minister to the top foreign affairs portfolio on Wednesday, handing him a long list of challenges including managing strained ties with neighbouring China. State Foreign Secretary Takeaki Matsumoto will take over from pro-US security hawk Seiji Maehara, who abruptly quit on Sunday after admitting he had taken about $3,000 in donations from a Korean national.
-- Challenges include strained ties with China, Russia
-- PM picks junior cabinet minister for diplomatic consistency
-- Matsumoto needs to keep ties with Washington on even keel
"The prime minister made the decision based on his (Matsumoto's) abilities and knowledge, as well as on his diplomatic consistency - the fact that he has been involved in some important matters as state foreign secretary," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.
The resignation of Maehara, once seen as a likely successor to the unpopular Kan if he bows to pressure to quit, was a fresh blow to the premier and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) as they fight to pass bills needed to implement a $1 trillion budget for the year from April in a divided parliament.
With support for the government sinking to around 20 percent, opposition parties have built up pressure for Kan to resign, adding to the political stalemate that has distracted the government from tackling deep-seated problems and crafting policies to curb Japan's massive public debt. Maehara's successor will have to hit the ground running, attending a Group of Eight ministerial meeting in Paris on March 14-15 and a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from China and South Korea later this month.
Matsumoto faces a long list of diplomatic challenges. Japan's relations with Beijing chilled last year after Japan held a Chinese skipper after his trawler collided with Japanese patrol boats near disputed isles in the East China Sea.
In a sign that ties are still strained, Japan scrambled jets this month after Chinese naval planes flew near the isles, though they did not enter Japan's airspace. Tokyo also complained to Beijing this week after a Chinese helicopter flew close to a Japanese destroyer in the East China Sea.
Despite diplomatic tensions, Japan is increasingly dependent on China's economic strength. China has recently surpassed Japan as the world's second-biggest economy and has been Japan's biggest trading partner since 2009. Ties with Washington, Japan's biggest security ally, was also damaged after the DPJ took power in 2009 and then-premier Yukio Hatoyama tried to keep a campaign pledge to move a US air base off the southern island of Okinawa. Kan, who took over last June when Hatoyama suddenly quit, has promised to implement a 2006 deal to shift the base to a less populated part of the island, but faces stiff opposition from local residents.