Koichi Kato, who unsuccessfully led a charge to oust Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori late last month, could become prime minister in five or six years, a top policymaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Sunday.
"I guess it will be all right if they restore trust from now on. For the time being, Mori's government will continue, but it is possible (for Kato to become prime minister) in five or six years," Shizuka Kamei, chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council, said on a Fuji TV program.
Kato, along with LDP colleagues loyal to him, nearly toppled Mori's Cabinet by threatening to support an opposition-proposed no-confidence motion.
The motion would have passed if all members of his and ally Taku Yamasaki's factions had supported it, forcing Mori to step down or call a general election.
Mori, however, survived the no-confidence motion Nov. 21 when Kato retracted his threat at the last minute.
Asked why Kato and Yamasaki did not receive any punishment from the party, Kamei said that the LDP intends to involve all factions in party management and is considering the rebellion a "temporary delusion."
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