Japan PM Abe Launches New Cabinet, Retains All Ministers

Tokyo, Nov. 1 (Jiji Press)--Reelected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched his new cabinet on Wednesday, retaining all ministers he appointed three months ago. Earlier in the day, Abe, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected as the country's 98th prime minister by both chambers of the Diet at plenary meetings of a special session, which was convened following the Oct. 22 election of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet. The prime minister formed his fourth cabinet following an Imperial investiture for him and an attestation ceremony for the ministers at the Imperial Palace. "I will humbly and stably manage the government based on the solid coalition between the LDP and its partner, Komeito," Abe said at a press conference. Reiterating his policy of giving priority to boosting economic recovery, Abe said he plans to introduce a fiscal 2017 supplementary budget to the next ordinary Diet session starting in January. His government will draw up as early as early December a set of economic measures including for realizing free education, Abe added. As for proposed constitutional amendments, he said he will pursue a broad, bipartisan consensus. Abe made it clear that he has no plan to discuss the idea of holding a national referendum on revisions to the Constitution simultaneously with the next election of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, in the summer of 2019. In the Lower House election, political forces in support of constitutional revisions won a two-thirds majority in the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, a condition necessary for proposing any amendment to a national referendum. More than two-thirds of members in the Upper House support such amendment. Any proposal to change the post-World War II supreme law has to be approved by at least two-thirds of members in both chambers before it is put to a national referendum. At the first cabinet meeting for Abe's new administration, he instructed the ministers of his government to start work for drafting the extra budget for the current year ending next March. The supplementary budget is expected to cover projects aimed at reducing the number of children waiting to enter nursery schools and supporting domestic farmers that would be affected by an economic partnership agreement between Japan and the European Union. Japan and the EU reached a broad pact on concluding the EPA in July this year. Abe became the second prime minister in the postwar period to have formed a fourth cabinet, after Shigeru Yoshida. Abe would pave the way to becoming the longest-serving Japanese prime minister by winning reelection to a third term as LDP president in next year's party poll. In the vote by the 465-seat Lower House, Abe was supported by 312 members. Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan chief Yukio Edano came next with 60 votes, followed by Shu Watanabe of the Party of Hope with 51 votes and Democratic Party leader Kohei Otsuka with 16 votes. Among other Lower House members, Japanese Communist Party head Kazuo Shii earned 12 votes. In the 242-seat upper chamber, Abe won 151 votes, followed by the DP's Otsuka with 48 votes and the JCP's Shii with 14 votes. Among other Upper House lawmakers, the CDPJ's Edano garnered nine votes and Watanabe of the Party of Hope three votes. Before the votes, Tadamori Oshima of the LDP was reelected speaker of the powerful lower chamber of the Diet. Hirotaka Akamatsu of the CDPJ, which became the chamber's top opposition group in the general election, was picked as vice speaker. The Diet decided to hold the special session for 39 days through Dec. 9. END