Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named five female cabinet ministers on Wednesday in a symbolic step toward gender equality in government.
"A society in which women shine is one of the big pillars of this government," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference before the announcement.
Abe, who has made the empowerment of women a centerpiece of his economic revival strategy, has set a goal of having women in 30 percent of leadership positions in both the private and public sectors by 2020.
He had just two female ministers in his previous Cabinet. Now, women make up 28 percent.  
Key figures of the administration remained in place, including Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Finance Minister Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, but the cabinet’s lower ranks saw fresh blood.