Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has appointed a fiscal hawk as his deputy in charge of tax and social security reform in a cabinet reshuffle. "Noda...has found out it is difficult to navigate the 'twisted Diet' [parliament], especially if you don't have your own ducks in a row," said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University, Japan Campus. "But we are not looking at real relief to the prevailing political gridlock."