Hoping to end a power struggle in the Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will hold talks Friday with three influential LDP members to seek their help in key administrative reform, according to party sources.
Koizumi expects the talks with former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and two former LDP secretaries general, Hiromu Nonaka and Makoto Koga, to give him more political clout in implementing reform of the civil servant system, the sources said Saturday.
The trio are widely viewed as "resistance forces," taking issue with Koizumi's reform drive that could cut into their vested interests, such as highway construction.