noda kept koichiro gemba as foreign minister, former diet affairs chief of the main ruling democratic party. koriki jojima are will take over as finance minister. satoshi morimoto maintains his post. he's the first person from the private sector to hold the job. deputy chief cabinet secretary hiroyuki nag hama is becoming the nuclear crisis minister and will be in charge of the environment ministry. reconstruction minister at the sue woe hirano is holding on to his position. noda explained some of the reasoning behind the shuffle. >> translator: this reshuffle is aimed at strengthening cooperation among officials to have government and the ruling parties and improving how the cabinet if you thinks. so we can better handle the issues we face. >> noda also referred to the territorial row with china over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. he said there is no doubt the islands are inherent japanese territory both historically and under international law. the prime minister noted japan controls the island, but he added both sides should stay calm as they try to resolve the situatio

the foreign minister koichiro gemba has indicated japanese authorities will increase their efforts to assert their position on the islands to the international community. >> something like information warfare is under way. we need to appeal to the international community even though the status of our country on the island does not change. >> gemba added the japanese government sees no dispute over their sovereignty. and the latest standoff at sea around the senkaku islands is over. four chinese patrol ships left japanese territorial waters. they entered the area earlier in the day and navigated there for several hours. japan coast guard crews spotted the marine surveillance vessels at midday about 22 kilometers southwest of one of the senkaku islands. officers say all the chinese ships left by early evening. they noticed the boats monday lingering just outside japanese waters. coast guard crews have tracked more than ten chinese patrol ships near senkaku since mid-september. this is the third time the vessels entered japan's maritime territory. >>> an expert on american foreign policy

koichiro gemba told a senior u.s. official there is no issue regarding who owns the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands, but china and taiwan claim them. gemba met in tokyo with deputy secretary of state william burns. burns is in japan ahead of visits to china and south korea. during the discussions gemba reiterated that the senkaku islands are an inherent part of japanese territory. he added this is based on historical fact and international law. gemba explained japan is trying to facilitate dialogue with china while asking its neighbor to act calmly. the diplomats also touched on the subject of north korea. they agreed to continue to work with south korea to address the north's nuclear program. they also decided to keep looking into the issue of japanese nationals who were abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. >>> government officials from japan, china, and south korea have emphasized the importance of cooperation to overcome confrontations. representatives of the three nations met monday i

noda kept koichiro gemba as foreign minister. former diet affairs chief of the main ruling democratic party koriki jojima will take over as finance minister. defense minister satoshi morimoto retains his post. he's the first person from the private sector to hold the job. deputy chief cabinet secretary and upper house member hiroyuki nagahama is becoming the nuclear crisis minister. he will also be in charge of the environment ministry. reconstruction minister tatsuo hirano is holding on to his portfolio. noda explained some of the reasoning behind the reshuffle. >> translator: this reshuffle is aimed at strengthening cooperation among officials of the government and the ruling parties and improving how the cabinet functions so we can better handle the issues we face. >> noda also referred to the territorial row with china over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. he said there is no doubt the islands are inherent japanese territory both historically and under international law. the prime minister noted japan controls the i