TOKYO (Reuters) - On the surface, the reappointment of Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki in Monday's cabinet reshuffle may seem to signal Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is just playing it safe in his final year in office.
Likewise, not naming Heizo Takenaka, who has been Koizumi's right-hand man on reform, as economics minister may seem like just a pat on the back after 4 1/2-years in high-pressure jobs turning around the world's second largest economy from the brink of a financial crisis.