Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori continued tinkering with the task of matching Cabinet portfolios with names Sunday, but many of his appointments in the reshuffle expected Tuesday are likely to be old hands retained from his present administration, political sources said.
Names linked with ministerial positions Sunday included the retention of Takeo Hiranuma, current minister of international trade and industry, as head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to be formed under a major government regrouping to take effect Jan. 6.
The post had been sought after by both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party faction headed by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and by the LDP group co-led by party policy affairs chief Shizuka Kamei and former defense agency chief Takami Eto. The latter, of which Hiranuma is a member, is getting its way.