Presumptive Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering giving a Cabinet post to former Liberal Democratic Party chief Sadakazu Tanigaki, aiming to bolster party unity by using his predecessor, who helped pave the way for the LDP's return to power, party sources said Thursday.
Abe, head of the LDP, which scored an overwhelming victory in Sunday's general election and ousted Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan from power, may appoint Tanigaki as internal affairs and communications minister.
Abe also plans to name as ministers former LDP Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara, a rival candidate in the LDP leadership election in September, former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura and Upper House member Ichita Yamamoto, the sources said.