TOKYO, Japan: The Japanese Parliament on Wednesday re-elected Shinzo Abe as the country’s prime minister for another four-year term.
The 60-year-old Abe secured 328 votes in the lower house of the parliament while acting opposition leader Katsuya Okada received just 73 votes.
The upper house of the parliament also confirmed Abe’s re-appointment as the premier.
Later, Shinzo Abe announced his new cabinet on Wednesday afternoon following the resignation of his previous cabinet that paved the way for the re-election.
His new cabinet largely remained unchanged as Taro Aso was re-appointed as the deputy premier and finance minister while Fumio Kishida as the foreign minister.
However, security expert General Nakatani replaced Akinori Eto as the new the defense minister.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komei won the parliament elections that took place on December 14 with a two-thirds majority.
The 14 December election was seen as a referendum on Abe’s difficult and potentially unpopular economic reforms.
