Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, right, and Toshihiro Nikai, the secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, prepare for a meeting of party executives on Sept. 3. (Nobuo Fujiwara)

Faced with abysmal public approval ratings, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga deviously toyed with the unprecedented step of overhauling top executive posts of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party prior to the party’s leadership election this month to freshen up its image and strengthen his own hand in remaining in the top job.

On Sept. 2, Suga told close associates he would go ahead with the LDP reshuffle, which involved getting rid of close ally Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, who played a key role a year ago in getting Suga elected in the first place.

Suga had a number of candidates in mind to replace the executive lineup, including younger lawmakers such as Taro Kono, the state minister in charge of administrative reform, and Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, along with well-known veterans such as Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister and secretary-general.

Suga approached Motoo Hayashi, who serves as an acting secretary-general, to take over as chairman of the party’s Election Strategy Committee, a hugely important role with a Lower House election looming this autumn.

But Hayashi belongs to an LDP faction led by Nikai and he was furious that his boss was being dumped. Hayashi rejected informal overtures to accept the post. On Sept. 2, Hayashi told his associates, “I will never take on that job.”

Other Nikai faction members were also beyond irked that their leader was being shown out the door after all the support he had provided Suga.

The weakening of that support from the Nikai faction proved to be a fatal blow to Suga, who does not belong to any faction and has a weak power base within the LDP.

Suga was also hurt that he received less than full support for his strategy from those who he considered close allies.

Koizumi had made a point of meeting with the prime minister on an almost daily basis over the past week. According to sources, the two men discussed what should be included in a policy package for Suga as he sought a second term as LDP president.

But Koizumi also told Suga that younger LDP lawmakers felt they had no chance of retaining their seats in the Lower House election if Suga remained at the helm.

Koizumi told his close associates he thought it highly likely that Suga would step down soon.

“When Suga heard about what Koizumi was saying, he probably realized he was done for and had no alternative but to withdraw” from the LDP presidential race, said one mid-level LDP lawmaker.

Associates of Suga were puzzled by his frequent meetings with Koizumi.

“I never understood what Koizumi was up to,” said one associate.

In the view of a high-ranking LDP official close to Suga, Koizumi was intent on pushing the prime minister into a corner.

“The prime minister and those working closely with him were no longer able to accurately grasp what others were doing,” said a former Cabinet minister.

“Ultimately, there was no one there to support him,” said another Suga associate. “This was the last chance to withdraw without further staining his reputation.”

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