Japan’s PM picks hawkish defence minister in reshuffle

Inada, previously the ruling party policy chief, shares Abe’s goal of revising the post-war, pacifist constitution, which some conservatives consider a humiliating symbol of Japan’s World War Two defeat. She also regularly visits Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, which China and South Korea see as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism. Japan’s relations with Beijing and Seoul have often been frayed by the legacy of Japan’s military aggression before and during World War Two. “Ms Inada is an ultra-conservative politician and this will be taken as preparation for achieving constitutional revision and adopting a stern stance toward China,” said Takashi Kawakami, a security expert at Takushoku University. 

Inada, a 57-year-old lawyer, will be the second woman to hold the defence post. The first, Yuriko Koike, who held the job briefly in 2007, was recently elected Tokyo governor. Abe is trying to rekindle economic growth and cope with several diplomatic challenges as he ponders the possibility of staying in office after his term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ends in 2018. He is expected to travel to China in September for a Group of 20 summit, where he may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Sino-Japanese ties have been strained by a row over isles in East China Sea and China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. 

Abe, who took office in December 2012, will retain his right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, along with Finance Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Economics Minister N Ishihara will also be kept on along with Health, Welfare and Labour Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshige Seko will be trade and industry minister.