Calls are growing within the Liberal Democratic Party to get the post of land minister back from Komeito just as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida considers a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
For more than 10 years, Komeito, the LDP's partner in the ruling coalition, has held the top post of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which is in charge of public works projects across the country.
Some LDP lawmakers have a sense of crisis, worrying that the party's absence from the post may lead to erosion of its support base in the construction and transportation industries. But Komeito is unlikely to concede on the matter.