LDP Secretary-General Key in Cabinet, Party Reshuffle by Takaichi

Tokyo, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has started considering reshuffling her cabinet and the executive lineup at the Liberal Democratic Party possibly in September, with the treatment of Shunichi Suzuki, current secretary-general of the ruling party, believed to be a focal issue, informed sources have said.

Through the shake-ups, Takaichi apparently aims to reinforce her standing in the LDP to secure re-election as its president in a party leadership poll to be conducted ahead of the expiration of her current term in September 2027, at a time when public support for her cabinet is falling and a rift within the party is evident over a planned cut in the consumption tax rate for food to 1 pct from 8 pct for two years from next April.

Secretary-general of the LDP is a pivotal position sustaining an administration led by the party.

On Friday, Takaichi met with Suzuki and Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara for about 20 minutes at the prime minister's office. An informed source said that they exchanged opinions on personnel affairs and an extraordinary session of the Diet, or parliament, expected to be convened in autumn this year.

Suzuki belongs to the LDP's only remaining faction, led by party Vice President Taro Aso, a key supporter of the Takaichi administration, and is a brother-in-law of Aso.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]