Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hinted Saturday that he may reshuffle the Cabinet in mid-January in an effort to shore up his administration's falling approval ratings.
Speaking to reporters traveling with him in Jinan, Shandong Province, Fukuda also ruled out the possibility of dissolving the House of Representatives before summer, citing the Group of Eight summit in July and other political events.
Calls are reportedly mounting within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for half of the ministers to be replaced because of his Cabinet's dwindling popularity due primarily to its inability to deal with millions of missing pension records and because of the Defense Ministry corruption scandal. Asked if he is considering a Cabinet reshuffle, Fukuda said, "I understand that there are various opinions within the LDP, which I agree with.
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