Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named his Cabinet on Tuesday, giving most of the posts to his close aides and the people who actively supported him during the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.The 52-year-old president of the ruling LDP is the youngest postwar prime minister and the first to be born after World War II.
Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Abe's longtime ally and a specialist in economic policy, was appointed chief Cabinet secretary. He will also handle issues pertaining to North Korea's past abductions of Japanese.
"I believe that (the Cabinet picks) have contributed with individuality in various fields," Shiozaki told reporters after announcing the rest of the Cabinet appointments.
Taro Aso, Abe's rival in the LDP presidential race, was reappointed foreign minister, where he will continue efforts to mend ties with China and South Korea.
The repeated visits by Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, to Yasukuni Shrine have chilled Japan's relations with the two Asian neighbors and they refused to hold summits with him.
Under Aso, diplomats have been working behind the scenes to arrange summits between Abe and the leaders of the two nations.
After his reappointment, Aso told reporters Japan has strengthened its presence in the international community during his first term as foreign minister.
"Diplomacy is one of the methods to minimize the crisis" over North Korea's July 5 missile tests, Aso said. I "believe that Japan was able to connect with other countries and that led to taking swift measures against the North Korean" tests.
click above for the whole article
No comments:
Post a Comment