Yoshito Sengoku

TOKYO (Reuters) - Forget funding scandals or budget and foreign policy rifts: The big fuss in Japan's parliament on Wednesday was over three cabinet ministers turning up late for debate.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Wednesday he will appoint a member of a waste-cutting task force as administrative reform minister, in a bid to boost flagging support ahead of a mid-year election.

Japan's prime minister faced a fresh test of his troubled leadership Wednesday as his elderly finance minister looked set to step down due to poor health after just a few months in the job.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday he still hoped his finance minister would stay in his job, following media reports the 77-year-old wants to step down due to poor health.

Japan's prime minister accepted his finance minister's resignation offer because of poor health, despite earlier asking him to stay at the helm of the world's number two economy, Kyodo News said Tuesday.

Japan's new government has identified some 2.5 trillion yen (28 billion dollars) in cuts to be made from an extra budget laid out by its conservative predecessor, a state minister said Tuesday.

Lineup of newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama's Cabinet. The Cabinet line-up announced Wednesday by newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama: