TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is looking to extend his tenure and continue his push for a Constitutional amendment, is hoping to revive public support with his Cabinet reshuffle, but his new-look team is already raising some eyebrows.It has been widely expected that the prime minister will become Japan’s longest-serving postwar leader by winning a third three-year term….Read more

By Tomoyuki Tachikawa   TOKYO — Faced with a host of diplomatic challenges, from growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea to shaky ties with the South, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pinning his hopes on the latest Cabinet reshuffle to regain public trust in his government.Japan has been able to carry forward talks with other countries as Abe….Read more

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will give priority to stability by appointing tried-and-true former cabinet ministers in his cabinet reshuffle on Aug. 3. The new lineup will consist mostly of political heavyweights.   The reshuffle will be on a major scale, with 14 ministers being replaced, including Minister for Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens Katsunobu Kato’s appointment to a different post.….Read more

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to name Yasutoshi Nishimura, 54, special advisor to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president, to replace Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda, 53, in the reshuffle of the cabinet and the LDP leadership on Aug. 3. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Kotaro Nogami, 50, and Kazuhiro Sugita, 76, will be retained.   Abe will also….Read more

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to replace Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, while reinstating ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Itsunori Onodera as defense minister in a Cabinet reshuffle, LDP and government sources said Wednesday.   In the overhaul of ministers and LDP leaders on Thursday, Kishida, who also serves as defense minister after his predecessor’s abrupt resignation, is expected to….Read more

Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and the vice defense minister both resigned to take responsibility for the concealment of daily activity logs kept by the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) dispatched for UN peacekeeping operations (PKO) duties in South Sudan.

Asahi, Mainichi, and Sankei reported that Prime Minister Abe has decided to appoint former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera as defense minister when he reshuffles his cabinet on Thursday. Onodera served as defense minister from December 2012 through September 2014 under the second Abe cabinet. Nikkei wrote that Abe is making arrangements to appoint Foreign Minister Kishida as chairman of the….Read more