Reshuffle and Go Forward

Having won a certain victory in the election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe undertakes next political agenda. In his press conference on Monday, Abe announced that he would reshuffle his Cabinet as soon as August 3^rd. Based on new administrative posture, Abe is going to take steps forward to constitutional amendment. While he insists on matured discussion in the Diet, Abe hopes to lead it along with the draft of new constitution made by Liberal Democratic Party.

Considering some diplomatic schedule planned in mid-August, Abe revealed his intention to reshuffle his Cabinet before that. In the election on Sunday, two Ministers, Aiko Shimajiri for Okinawa and Northern Territory Issue and Mitsuhide Iwaki for Justice, lost their seat in House of Councillors. Abe has to replace those two Ministers and some more next month. It is expected that core members of the Cabinet, supposedly Ministry of Finance Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, will stay.

To accelerate his economic policy called Abenomics, Prime Minister is delivering a package of stimulus policy this fall. Under the leadership of Minister for Economic Revitalization, Nobuteru Ishihara, the Cabinet will submit supplemental budget to fall session of the Diet. Support for agricultural export or earlier start of Central Linear Railway would be some of important policy in the package.

Abe is getting more eloquent on constitutional amendment than in election campaign finished last week. “I hope the discussion in Commissions on the Constitution of both Houses to be converged,” told Abe in the press conference on Monday. To the argument of opposite parties against constitutional amendment, Abe criticized them as not constructive and required to join the discussion on which provisions should be changed. Having said that, he told that he was responsible for achieving new concepts listed in LDP constitutional draft as the party leader.

Before the press conference, Abe had a meeting with President of Komeito, Natsuo Yamaguchi. While Yamaguchi requested deliberated discussion over Constitution, Abe agreed on it. Komeito has been opposing changing Article 9 and willing to work as braking system against Abe administration. However, Komeito’s negotiation with LDP over security issue is the history of miserable defeats. In reinterpretation of the Constitution on collective self-defense right, Komeito simply endorsed LDP’s concept that the right would be partly allowed after reviewing provisions of the Constitution.

Abe looks to be confident that he will be able to lead the discussion. Although he pretends to be moderate, it is likely that he will suddenly dash toward Article 9, when a party like Osaka Restoration Party requests it. How many eligible voters understand this reality?