In the wake of the Liberal Democratic Party's crushing defeat last weekend in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing to reshuffle his Cabinet and the party leadership, possibly in the first week of August, government and party sources said Friday.
Abe — who is in Hamburg, Germany, to attend a two-day meeting of the Group of 20 major economies which was to start later Friday — is expected to make a final decision on the makeup of his new Cabinet, including the exact timing, after returning home next Wednesday, according to the sources.
The timing of his Cabinet refresh suggests the prime minister wishes to give the incoming ministers time to prepare before the extraordinary Diet session expected to be convened in September.