In the LDP presidential election on September 20, Abe beat his sole rival, former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba, by a comfortable margin
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to retain key ministers in a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday, aiming to maintain government stability as he pushes for his long-cherished goal of revising Japan’s pacifist Constitution.
After being re-elected as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s 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.
Abe will likely keep Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who doubles as finance minister, Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who is the top government spokesman.
He is also set to appoint Takeshi Iwaya, an eight-term House of Representatives member, as new defence minister, sources close to the matter said.
In the LDP presidential election on September 20, Abe beat his sole rival, former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba, by a comfortable margin.
