Yoshihide Suga, new president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said on Monday that he would choose reform-minded people to LDP key posts and the cabinet which he will launch later this week.
Suga made the remarks hours after he was elected as the new party chief. The election was triggered by Shinzo Abe's abrupt announcement late last month that he was stepping down due to a recurrent health issue that also brought his first tenure as prime minister to an abrupt end in 2007.
Speaking at a news conference at the party's headquarters, he pledged to bring reformists into the new cabinet from various factions.
"I would like to proceed with regulatory reforms by defeating such things as bureaucratic sectionalism, vested interests, and blind adherence to precedent. And I want to form a cabinet that will work hard for the people," he said.
As for Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai, Suga said they both have been core members of Abe's government. However, he has yet to decide whether to retain them in the new government.
Suga's term as the LDP president is limited to the remainder of Abe's current three-year term through September 2021.
However, speculation has been swirling recently that he may call a general election as early as next month to improve his chances of winning a full three-year term as LDP leader.
Suga responded at the news conference that it will be difficult to dissolve the lower house for a snap general election unless the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.
According to local media, the next election may not be "imminent" as Aso and some other senior LDP lawmakers have said. Enditem
