Whatever other motivations may have been in play, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's recent reshuffle of his Cabinet was surely intended to raise the low support rate for his Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition in anticipation of the next general election.
The next move may be by the ruling bloc's key rival, the Democratic Party of Japan.
The largest opposition force will choose its next president at an extraordinary party convention on Sept. 21 as the two-year term of the current leader, Ichiro Ozawa, expires.