TOKYO, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is likely to carry out a cabinet reshuffle and revamp the executive lineup of her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the latter half of September, Kyodo News reported Friday, citing sources close to the matter.
A previous Kyodo News report said the reshuffle could bring a major overhaul of ministers and is aimed at refreshing the Takaichi cabinet's image amid declining approval ratings in recent opinion polls.
A lawmaker from the Japan Innovation Party, the junior coalition partner of the ruling LDP, is widely believed to take a ministerial position in the new cabinet.
Also drawing attention is whether Takaichi will retain her rivals from last year's LDP leadership race, including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi.
It would be the first major reorganization of the LDP leadership and the cabinet since Takaichi became the party chief and was elected prime minister last October. ■
