DPJ's Hatoyama decides to slot top aide into key cabinet post

TOKYO, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Yukio Hatoyama began the full process of choosing his Cabinet members on Friday, deciding to slot his top aide Hirofumi Hirano into the post of chief cabinet secretary in his incoming government, Kyodo News reported.

Hatoyama decided to appoint Hirano, 60, currently head of the DPJ leader's secretariat, to the post of top government spokesman after offering the party's No. 2 post of secretary general to his predecessor as party leader, Ichiro Ozawa.

DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and another DPJ heavy weight, Naoto Kan, are also expected to get major cabinet posts, the report said.

Concerning the coalition talks, Social Democratic Party Secretary General Yasumasa Shigeno called for establishing a liaison policy coordination body among the parties and opposed the DPJ's proposal to reduce the number of proportional representation seats in the House of Representatives.

"We held free discussions about ways to decide policies and ideas for running a government," Okada was quoted as saying after the meeting in Tokyo, adding he thinks the three should meet again next week.