Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he will change his Cabinet lineup sometime after an extraordinary Diet session next week, as the ruling bloc licked its wounds from its drubbing in the House of Councilors election.
Abe also vowed to dispel distrust in the public pension system, which has mishandled millions of premium payment records and was a major focal point for voters Sunday. He indicated he will take the loopholes out of the recently revised law on reporting political funds.
Abe, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Akihiro Ota, head of New Komeito, meanwhile reconfirmed their intention in a meeting Monday to maintain the two-party ruling coalition despite the dark cloud cast by the election setback.