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Shinzo Abe returns as Japanese prime minister after snap election
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 24, 2014


Japan's parliament on Wednesday confirmed Shinzo Abe for another term as prime minister after his election triumph, but the return to power stirred warnings from China over a bid to change the pacifist constitution.

The lower house voted overwhelmingly for the 60-year-old Abe with 328 votes against 73 for acting opposition leader Katsuya Okada. That was followed by an upper house poll which officially confirmed Abe as premier.

His new cabinet was largely unchanged with Taro Aso returning as deputy premier and finance minister, Fumio Kishida as foreign minister and Yoichi Miyazawa in the industry minister post.

The industry post is a key job that oversees Japan's nuclear power industry, as Abe looks to restart more atomic reactors shuttered after the 2011 Fukushima accident.

The only new face was Gen Nakatani who replaced Akinori Eto as defence minister, after he declined reappointment in the midst of a political funding scandal.

Nakatani, 57, in 2001-2002 headed the defence agency, which was later upgraded to a government ministry.

On top of trying to kickstart the world's number three economy, Abe has vowed to pursue a nationalist agenda, including persuading a sceptical public of the need to revise the pacifist constitution.

But efforts to alter the charter, imposed by the US after the end of World War II, have proved divisive at home and strained already tense relations with China.

"Abe and his new defence minister... need to tread carefully," China's official Xinhua news agency said Wednesday.

"The two both advocate a stronger role for Japan's Self-Defense Forces, and the international community should keep a wary eye on them and constantly remind them not to go too far."

Relations, however, have begun to thaw after a more than two-year chill. Beijing blamed this partly on Abe's provocative nationalism, including a visit to a controversial war shrine and equivocations on Japan's wartime record of enslaving women for sex.

- Style over substance -

Abe is to speak to reporters around 9:10 pm (1210 GMT) before holding his new government's first cabinet meeting, said Yoshihide Suga, the Chief Cabinet Secretary who is Tokyo's top spokesman.

The prime minister's incumbent cabinet resigned en masse Wednesday morning, following the ruling coalition's victory in December 14 polls that were billed as a referendum on Abe's economic growth blitz, dubbed Abenomics.

The conservative leader has pledged to concentrate on resurrecting the economy, calling it his "top priority". But many observers said the snap election was more likely aimed at fending off rivals before a ruling party leadership vote next year.

Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition swept the ballot, winning a two-thirds majority in the lower house. The upper chamber is also controlled by his ruling bloc.

Japan had appeared on track for recovery after Abe swept to power in late 2012, but an April sales tax rise slammed the brakes on growth and plunged the economy into recession -- prompting the premier to delay a second rise that had been set for next year.

"We heard people's voices calling for me to push on with Abenomics," he told a news conference following the election.

As a first step, Abe is expected to announce fresh measures later this week, partially financed by a supplementary budget worth some 3.0 trillion yen ($25 billion) to counter the post tax-rise downturn.

Among the new measures are housing loan subsidies and tuition support for students, Yomiuri newspaper and other media reported.

Abenomics -- a blend of big government spending, monetary easing and reforms to the highly regulated economy -- has helped exporters by sending the yen sharply lower and boosted stocks.

But Abe's failure to implement some of the tough changes economists say are needed -- freeing up the labour market and tackling an inefficient agricultural sector -- has left the premier open to the charge that he is pursuing style over substance.

Analysts say the election victory was less a resounding endorsement of Abe and his policies than a symptom of a weak and fragmented opposition offering few credible alternatives.

bur-si-kh-oh/pb/sm


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Pope to meet Muslim, Buddhist leaders in Philippines visit
Manila (AFP) Dec 22, 2014
Pope Francis will meet with leaders of various religions when he visits the Philippines next month, pushing a message of tolerance in order to combat global religious conflicts, a church official said Monday. The pontiff will hold a 10 to 15-minute dialogue with the dean of the Philippines' largest Islamic studies centre and a Taiwan-based Buddhist leader on January 18, according to Father C ... read more


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