Jul 31 08:04 AM US/EasternTOKYO, July 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will reshuffle his Cabinet on Friday afternoon for the first time since he assumed office last September, several senior lawmakers of the ruling coalition and a high-ranking government official said Thursday.
Fukuda told reporters he will decide the upcoming political schedules after meeting with Akihiro Ota, leader of the New Komeito party, on Friday morning.
He indicated that the reshuffle could take place depending on the outcome of the 9 a.m. meeting with Ota.
"I would like to have discussions on a number of matters including the upcoming political schedules," Fukuda told reporters. "I will decide everything there."
Asked by reporters if the reshuffle could take place Friday after his meeting with Ota, the prime minister responded, "It's up to our meeting."
Fukuda will also appoint new executives of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday, the lawmakers said.
Calls have been growing for Fukuda to form a Cabinet that reflects his own political stance, given that he inherited 15 of his 17 Cabinet ministers from his predecessor Shinzo Abe.
The reshuffle is apparently aimed at bolstering his sluggish support ratings, which have not improved much even after the Group of Eight summit that he chaired in July in Hokkaido.
According to major newspaper polls in mid-July following the G-8 summit, the approval rating on Fukuda's Cabinet remained below the "danger" line of 30 percent.
After meeting with Ota, Fukuda is expected to convene a meeting of current ministers so they will submit their resignations and appoint the LDP's new leadership in the afternoon.
The focus of the Cabinet reshuffle is whether the premier will retain Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura.
Concerning the LDP leadership, interest centers on whether the party's Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki will remain in his post as some members in the LDP question his ability.
It was widely expected within the ruling coalition that the reshuffle would be carried out Monday, but Fukuda has moved up the schedule -- probably as a way to demonstrate his resolve by conducting a "lightning-like" reshuffle.
The reshuffle will be followed by an extraordinary Diet session, at which the ruling and opposition blocs will debate the special antiterrorism law authorizing Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, if Fukuda fails to raise support ratings after the reshuffle, the ruling coalition may pressure him to resign with an eye on possible dissolution of the House of Representatives, which would lead to a general election.
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