Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday, tapping young and popular lawmaker Shinjiro Koizumi as environment minister in an effort to give a fresh image to his near-seven-year-old government.

Abe shifted Foreign Minister Taro Kono to defense minister, while economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi replaced Kono as Japan's top diplomat.

Koizumi, the 38-year-old son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and regarded as a potential future leader himself, is the third-youngest to win a ministerial post in postwar Japan. <full story>