With the recent session of parliament having come to an end, speculation has now turned to whether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will order a Cabinet reshuffle and changes to top leadership in the Liberal Democratic Party.
Both moves, if made, would be aimed at boosting his popularity and strengthening his position within the LDP ahead of an autumn parliament session expected to take up the controversial issues of how to finance a new child care policy and defense spending increases approved in the session that wrapped up on Wednesday.
Kishida remained vague during a Wednesday news conference when asked if he would reshuffle the Cabinet and initiate changes in party leadership. But he added that he was thinking about who would be best placed to carry out his policies.