Speculation that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will reshuffle his Cabinet sometime after the current Diet session ends Dec. 7 has not ebbed, despite his repeated denials.
Experts are mixed on whether a Cabinet reshuffle at this time would prove beneficial or damaging to Koizumi, who still retains strong popular support but faces a possible showdown with the Liberal Democratic Party, which he heads, over his reform initiatives.
Pressures on Koizumi to change his Cabinet lineup have mounted, particularly from LDP lawmakers who claim Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who is embroiled in a continuing standoff with ministry bureaucrats, should be replaced because she is not doing her job properly on the diplomatic front.