Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considers keeping Policy Research Chairman Takayuki Kobayashi in position and appointing him to key positions due to cabinet reshuffle and personnel changes to party executives

On the 7th, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (Liberal Democratic Party President) began considering whether to continue treating Policy Research Council Chairman Takayuki Kobayashi in a key position regarding the cabinet reshuffle and personnel changes to party executives, which are scheduled to take place in the middle of this month. In addition to retaining his post, there are plans to appoint him to an important cabinet position. It has also been suggested that Hiroshi Kajiyama, chairman of the Kokusai Committee, may remain in the post or be appointed as a cabinet minister.

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The prime minister is likely to keep Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Mogi in office, and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is also likely to remain in office. With an eye on next autumn's presidential election, it appears that the party is aiming to attract ``post-Takaichi'' candidates, including Kobayashi.

On the 7th, Mr. Kobayashi visited the Prime Minister's Office with Acting Secretary-General Koichi Hagiuda and spoke with the Prime Minister for about an hour over lunch. Afterwards, he told reporters, ``We talked about how to strengthen the party organization.''

At the recent special Diet session, Mr. Kobayashi worked on issues that were controversial both inside and outside the party, including the enactment of a law punishing damage to the national flag and a law creating a "sub-capital." He promoted the revision of the Imperial House Law under Vice President Taro Aso and deepened his relationship with him. He is the only member of the party's executive team to meet regularly with the prime minister. When he took office last fall, he told the prime minister that he would come every week, and since then he has played the role of a liaison between the party and the Prime Minister's office, where there is a slight sense of distance between them.

In the last presidential election, he came fourth in the first vote. He has made his presence felt by surrounding him with mid-level and young policy-savvy people, and some people around the prime minister are warning that if he stays on for too long, he will become too powerful.

Mr. Kajiyama is close to Mr. Mogi. While the prime minister was reluctant to attend the Diet, he negotiated with the opposition parties.