Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will reshuffle his Cabinet and ruling party executives on Thursday, with sources saying Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to remain in his current post.
The Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party leadership overhaul, the first in a year, is aimed at regaining public support following a recent plunge in Abe's Cabinet approval ratings due to a series of scandals.
Abe himself became ensnared by allegations he gave favorable treatment to a friend seeking approval for the construction of a new veterinary school in a special economic zone.
While Abe has decided to keep key members, including Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, he is working on the selection of other Cabinet posts, according to government and ruling party sources.
Speaking during an LDP executive meeting Tuesday morning, Abe officially announced the date of the overhaul and said, "I hope to rekindle public support" for the Cabinet.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga quoted Abe as telling Cabinet ministers he will "implement various policies even more aggressively with new members" of his administration.
Kishida and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko are likely to retain their posts, according to the sources. Kishida, who has remained in the portfolio since Abe returned to power in 2012, is viewed as a front-runner to become the LDP's next leader.
Toshimitsu Motegi and Itsunori Onodera, the LDP's policy research council chairman and acting head of the body, respectively, are expected to be given key Cabinet posts, the sources said.
Attention has focused on who will become defense minister after Tomomi Inada resigned last week to take responsibility for a data coverup scandal involving Japanese ground troops dispatched as peacekeepers to South Sudan. Kishida has taken on the defense portfolio temporarily in the wake of her resignation.
Abe is considering bringing back someone who formerly served as defense minister, and Onodera is among the candidates, the sources added.
The prime minister has accepted a request from the LDP's junior coalition partner the Komeito party to retain Keiichi Ishii, the only Cabinet member from the party, as transport minister, Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said Monday.
Education minister Hirokazu Matsuno and regional revitalization minister Kozo Yamamoto, who have been under fire due to their jurisdiction over the vet school project, as well as Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda are likely to be replaced, the sources said.
LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai said Tuesday Abe has asked him to stay on. Masahiko Komura, the party's vice president, is also expected to remain in his post, according to the sources.
