Shinzo Abe unveiled his list of ministers yesterday, December 26, 2012.
Japan's new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, yesterday, December 26, 2012 announced his cabinet shortly after Parliament voted him as PM, following his party's emphatic poll victory earlier this month.
The BBC said the cabinet includes a number of PM Abe's close allies such as the former Trade and Industry Minister, Akira Amari, who was named Minister for Economic Revival and veteran Toshimitsu Motegi, chosen for the post of Trade Minister. Other cabinet ministers include Taro Aso, former Premier from 2008 to 2009 who becomes Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister while Fumio Kishida is Foreign Minister. Yoshihide Suga is Chief Cabinet Secretary, Akira Amari in charge of Economic Revitalisation, Itsunori Onodera becomes Defence Minister and Nobuteru Ishihara is Nuclear Crisis Minister.
Abe’s previous term in office ended ignominiously amid falling popularity and a resignation on grounds of ill health. This time round, he campaigned on a platform promising an end to years of economic stagnation with more public spending and a looser monetary policy. He is returning to power at a critical moment and is Japan's seventh Premier in six years. The grandson of a former Prime Minister and son of an ex-Foreign Minister, Shinzo Abe, 58, has called for Japan's pacifist constitution to be revised and patriotic sentiments nurtured.
The new Prime Minister has also expressed the desire to amend Central Bank laws to prop up the country's economy. Speaking after his general election win on December 16, 2012, he acknowledged widely-held sentiments that the LDP victory was more due to anger at DPJ’s failures than a statement of confidence in the LDP.
The Liberal Democratic Party crushed the governing Democratic Party (DPJ) in the December 16 poll. DPJ leader, Yoshihiko Noda, stepped down shortly afterwards. The DPJ was elected in 2009 on a promise to increase welfare spending and break ties between the bureaucracy and big business. But the party’s failure to deliver on the economy and response to the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami led to loss in support.
