finance minister yoshihiko noda, defense minister toshimi kitazawa, and national policy mirn koichiro gemba will retain their jobs. by replacing them the prime minister appears to have cleared the way for a diet debate on the budget plan. but it remains to be seen whether budget-related bills can pass the opposition controlled upper house. >>> japan and the united states have begun working-level talks on a transpacific partnership, or tpp, a regional free trade agreement. two days of talks in washington from thursday. japan is expected to tell the u.s. whether it will reach a decision on whether or not to join the tpp by june. the u.s. is expected to say it will welcome japan's sxags explain negotiations already under way among nine countries including australia and singapore. the talks are likely to cover agricultural issues. japanese farmers oppose the liberalization of rice imports and the country has been restricting u.s. beef imports. japanese and u.s. officials also met at the u.s. energy department to discuss rare earth minerals. these are the first japan-u.s. working-level talks on

finance minister yoshihiko noda, defense minister toshimi kitazawa and national policy minister koichiro gemba kept their jobs. the opposition controlled upper house censured both former chief cabinet secretary sengoku and transport minister sumio mabuchi. in late inform for their handling of the collision between a chinese trawler and japanese patrol boats. they have both lost their posts. prime minister kan held a new conference explaining the goals of his new cabinet and how he intends to lead the government. >> translator: the japanese economy has been stagnant for 20 years. our financial situation is worsening, and we are facing several issues including social security, the question of decentralization and diplomacy. i carried out the cabinet reshuffle to overcome this crisis with the intention of putting together the best possible team ahead of the next parliamentary session. over the coming days, we will continue the process of consolidating the leadership of the democratic party. >> the president of the main opposition liberal democratic party sadakazu tanigaki made the following comme