Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda decision to reshuffle his cabinet has failed to increase public support for his tax reform proposals . . . Noda formed his new Cabinet on January 13, removing two gaffe-prone ministers and adding a fiscal hawk from the ruling party . . . Noda, of the Democratic Party of Japan, has struggled with sinking public opinion since he took office in September as Japan's sixth prime minister in five years . . . his unpopular tax proposal would raise the sales tax from five to ten percent by 2015 . . . the cabinet reshuffle was intended to bring the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) back to the negotiating table . . . the LDP controls Japan’s upper house of parliament and has final say over passing the tax increase . . . the reshuffle makes it more difficult for the LDP to refuse talks without appearing unreasonable, however the LDP wants Noda to call early elections in an attempt to regain control of the government before the tax proposal can be submitted in March.