Wednesday's Cabinet reshuffle has caused a commotion among intraparty factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, with the faction led by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida hit hardest.
Kishida's faction, the third-largest with 45 members, now has only one post, Kishida's own, in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet — down from five ministers in the previous Cabinet.
Some media outlets have speculated that the move constitutes a retaliation by Abe for Kishida's call to protect the war-renouncing Constitution.
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