Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso decided Wednesday to reshuffle its cabinet lineup and fill in two vacancies left after former ministers' resignation, however, critics said the minor move is only further evidence to show the embattled prime minister has no more resorts and lacks leadership power.

Aso appointed upper house lawmaker Yoshimasa Hayashi as economic and fiscal policy minister, and lower house lawmaker Motoo Hayashi as chief of the National Public Safety Commission.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, former defense minister under former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, will replace Kaoru Yosano, who doubled the post and finance minister. Yosano will retain the post of finance minister.

The appointments, seen as a move to salvage Aso's declining popularity ahead of the looming election, will become effective Thursday.

Speculation had been rife that Aso would also reshuffle top officials in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as well as the cabinet in a bid to give a fresh boost to the coming election, but he opted not to reshuffle the LDP's key posts below his own due to strong opposition from some lawmakers.

"If Aso really had the election in mind, he would have had to replace the top three party posts and add a fresh face who would appear on TV programs and explain the party's manifesto," said Hidekazu Kawar, professor of international politics at the Gakushuin University in Tokyo, in an interview with the English- language newspaper Japan Times.

Political analyst Hisayuki Miyake agreed, saying Aso probably wanted to appoint Yoshide Suga, deputy chairman of the LDP's Election Strategy Council and one of his key aides.

"He probably wanted to reshuffle the executives but backed off since that would have raised a ruckus," Miyake told the Japan Times.

Miyake doubts Aso's moves will improve either his own or his cabinet's popularity.

Media reports said Aso eyed dissolving the Lower House immediately after the July 12 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, and aimed for an Aug. 2 or 9 general election.

However, his leadership is flagging after a series of blows, especially after the resignation of the minister of internal affairs due to a row regarding the personnel appointment of Japan Post. One group within the LDP is calling for the resignation of Aso and one of the lawmakers is collecting online signatures for this "anti-Aso campaign".

Latest public opinion polls show the support rate for the cabinet of Aso was 17.5 percent, down 8.7 percentage points from the previous poll last month. A Kyodo News poll also said 38.5 percent of the respondents expressed support for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), compared with 19.8 percent for Aso's LDP, the lowest in history for a ruling party.

The leading newspaper Asahi Shimbun lashed out more fiercely at Aso, urging the LDP leadership to stop playing "musical chairs" in an editorial Thursday.

"In the upcoming Lower House election, voters will pass judgment on the LDP's achievements and failures over the last four years. It would be shamelessly pragmatic for the LDP to try to change its 'face' just before the election," the editorial said.

"The party has been resorting to too many cheap tricks. A case in point is the latest round of nominations for cabinet and key party posts. Another is the party's tapping of Hideo Higashikokubara, the popular governor of Miyazaki Prefecture, to run for the Lower House."

The editorial concluded pointing out Aso's foremost priority now as the nation's leader is to seek the people's judgment in a popular vote as soon as possible. "He must not lose sight of this obligation," it said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)