Abe to Retain Key Ministers in Cabinet Reshuffle on Tues.

October 1, 2018

Tokyo- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to keep Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, 78, and other key allies in his cabinet, which he will reshuffle on Tuesday, following his victory in the Sept. 20 leadership election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

In a renewal of the LDP leadership on the same day, Abe plans to give a key post to former Economic Revitalization Minister Akira Amari, a 69-year-old veteran lawmaker close to him, while retaining Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, 79, in the party's effective No. 2 post, informed sources said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, 69, Foreign Minister Taro Kono, 55, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko, 55, and Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, 62, are likely to retain their respective posts as well, the sources said.

Abe is also set to reappoint Keiichi Ishii, 60, of Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, as land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister, accepting Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi's request made at their meeting on Monday.

Through the reshuffles of the cabinet and the LDP executive roster, Abe apparently aims to rebuild momentum for his administration ahead of next year's unified local elections and a triennial election also in 2019 for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of Japan's parliament.

In the party leadership election, Abe's sole opponent, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has also served in other ministerial posts and as LDP secretary-general, garnered 45 pct of votes cast by rank-and-file party members across the country.

The support for Ishiba from the regular party members, seen by some as higher than anticipated, is believed to reflect persistent public criticism of the Abe administration, which was mired in a series of cronyism and other allegations earlier this year.

In addition, a candidate supported by the ruling bloc suffered a defeat in Sunday's closely watched gubernatorial election in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan. Jiji Press