TOKYO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks on Friday with the leader of its junior coalition Komeito ally and has confirmed that he intends to reshuffle his cabinet on August 3.
The Japanese prime minister, who has seen the support rate for his cabinet tumble in recent media polls amid a series of high-profile scandals including himself and other senior lawmakers, told Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi that the appointment of ministers from Komeito to his new lineup will be based on the coalition party's opinions.
Currently Komeito has one member in Abe's Cabinet and Yamaguchi said that he will discuss with his party whether he wants Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii to retain his current portfolio.
Yamaguchi, in talks with Abe on Friday and with regards to the current scandals blighting the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), implored the prime minister to comprehensively answer the questions to be levied at him by the opposition camp at special committee sessions planned for both chambers of parliament next week.
The prime minister, following an initial refusal to be grilled, has now said he will attend the special parliament sessions to answer questions on allegations that he had used his influence to manipulate a government decision to benefit a close friend to benefit his opening of a veterinary school in a special deregulated zone.
The operator of the school, Kake Educational Institute, run a by a close friend of Abe's, was allegedly selected based on pressure from the prime minister's office.
Kake Educational Institution has applied for permission to open a new veterinary department in the specially deregulated zone 15 times since 2007, yet all of the applications were rejected.
However according to whistle-blower Kihei Maekawa, former vice education minister, official ministry documents indicate that Abe's influence was used in favor of Kake finally being selected.
Maekawa has also said that aides close to Abe had also exerted pressure from the prime minister's office for the school to be selected and its construction expedited, according to explanations on the matter he gave during a special parliamentary session.
Yamaguchi went on to urge Abe to fulfill his duty to the public and fully account for himself over the latest school-linked scandal.
Separately, Abe may have secured the support of Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to stay on in his cabinet role.
Kishida, however, had previously made assertions to the contrary and is widely seen as a potential challenger for the LDP's top post and has garnered a lot of support from his own and other factions within the ruling party, currently perturbed at the prime minister for the party's poor performance of late.
Among a plethora of scandals impacting the ruling camp, the LDP also suffered a crushing defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly Election recently, which is widely considered a future indicator of national politics.
