Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi will reappoint Yoshiro Mori as secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party and Hiromu Nonaka as chief Cabinet secretary if he wins the Sept. 21 LDP presidential election, informed sources said Thursday.
According to the sources, Obuchi has already begun pondering his next Cabinet lineup as well as a personnel reshuffle among the LDP's top brass, ahead of the proposed tripartite coalition with the Liberal Party and New Komeito, as early as this month.
The two junior partners will be given one Cabinet post each, while key portfolios such as chief Cabinet secretary and finance minister will remain with Nonaka and Kiichi Miyazawa, the sources said.
However, political sources said Nonaka is determined to step down in the next Cabinet change.
As LDP leader, Obuchi intends to keep Mori in the No. 2 position, while appointing former construction minister Shizuka Kamei as head of the party's Policy Affairs Research Council, the sources said.
In an effort to maintain party unity, Obuchi will most likely select someone from the faction headed by LDP presidential race rival Koichi Kato, to head the party's Executive Council, they added.
Obuchi agreed with Mori and Nonaka during a meeting Wednesday night, to undertake the party's personnel changes as swiftly as possible once the LDP presidential election is held, the sources said.
In addition, the prime minister has made it clear that he intends to make a major Cabinet reshuffle when New Komeito joins the two-party coalition.