Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to reshuffle his cabinet and change the LDP's leadership lineup on Tuesday, while retaining key ministers to maintain government stability as he puts his longtime goal of amending Japan's constitution front and center.
After being re-elected as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) president last month, Abe said he would bring some new faces into government but suggested he would retain key ministers, whom he described as the "firm foundation" of his Cabinet.
Following the LDP's General Council in the morning, Abe will formally announce his new personnel lineup and the new Cabinet is expected to be officially inaugurated in the early evening, following a ceremony at the Imperial Palace.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 26, 2018. /VCG Photo
Who stays?
Much of the cabinet looks to remain the same.
At a press conference in New York on September 26, Abe called Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, 78, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, 69, "cornerstones" of his administration, showing his determination to retain his two close allies.
Although Aso came under fire for sexual harassment remarks earlier this year, saying that "sexual harassment is not a crime," Abe still regards his longtime friend as the only person qualified to "rehabilitate the finance ministry and push forward our financial policies"
Accompanied by his close ally, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso (L), Prime Minister Shinzo Abe makes his last street speech on the eve of the party presidential election, on September 19, 2018. /VCG Photo
Aso and Suga have been in their respective posts since the 2012 start of the second incarnation of the Abe Cabinet.
Abe also clearly stated he was keeping deputy chief Cabinet secretaries Yasutoshi Nishimura, 55, and Kotaro Nogami, 51.
LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, who was one of the first to support Abe in the leadership race, and policy research chief Fumio Kishida also are expected to stay on.
Though Kishida briefly considered running for prime minister himself, experts analyzed that Abe hopes that keeping him close as a potential successor will sap Abe's only rival former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba's influence within the party.
Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) (Front R), applauds with Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the LDP (Front L), during the party's annual convention in Tokyo, Japan, on March 25, 2018. /VCG Photo
Foreign Minister Taro Kono, 55, and Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, 62, are both believed to be retained as Abe wishes to have Kono lay the groundwork for the important diplomatic event and Motegi is involved in trade negotiations with the US.
Media also reported Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko, 55, and Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii, 60, will also keep their posts.
New faces?
Local media said Abe will bring in 11 "newcomers," the largest number since Abe returned to power in 2012, including a new leader to the LDP's General Council, a new defensive prime minister and a female minister, although their faces are not new to the public.
Appointing Health Minister Katsunobu Kato to replace Wataru Takeshita to head the LDP's General Council, one of three key leadership posts in the LDP, is believed to be a move by Abe to set his sights on the future.
Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato (L), and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), listen to a question during a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee in parliament in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. /VCG Photo
A proposal to change the constitution requires the approval of the LDP General Council. Kato has played a key role in promoting many of Abe's key policies from increasing female participation in the workforce to raising the retirement age.
Abe trusts him more than Takeshita, who belongs to Ishiba's intraparty group.
Meanwhile, former Farm Minister Ken Saito, who also belongs to Ishiba's intraparty group and backed him in the leadership race, is also expected to be replaced.
Ishiba himself obviously will not get any key positions in Abe's government since he sharply criticized Abe for his constitution amending proposal as well as his other political positions during the campaign.
Another sign that Abe is preparing to amend Japan's constitution is that he will appoint another longtime ally, Akira Amari, as the LDP's Election Strategy Committee chair. Amari was forced to step down as economic revitalization minister in 2016 over bribery allegations
Japan's then Economy Minister Akira Amari reacts during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 28, 2016. /VCG Photo
This position is important to Abe as he is gearing up for the Diet upper house election in summer 2019. His party now holds 122 of the 242 seats in the upper house and 66 of the party's seats are waiting for the election. Abe needs his party to maintain its two-thirds majority in both the upper and lower houses to initiate a motion to amend the constitution.
Local media also reported Abe was replacing Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, and Takeshi Iwaya, 61, a former parliamentary vice defense minister, is expected to take over.
Abe was also likely to appoint former finance ministry official Satsuki Katayama, a conservative female LDP lawmaker, as health, welfare and labor minister.
Katayama in the past has been harshly critical of people she called welfare cheats, although experts said they make up just a tiny portion of all welfare recipients.
(With inputs from agencies)