Abe retains almost half of ministers in cabinet reshuffle, Inada appointed as DM

The reshuffle, following his LDP and its coalition Komeito partner expanding their power base in an upper house election in July, marks Abe's third since he retook power in 2012 and has seen eight of his former 19-member lineup retained in their current roles, including his top spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Finance Minister Taro Aso.

The reshuffle has been pitched at underscoring the prime minister's intentions to shore up the nation's stagnant economy via the actualization of the latest installment of his "Abenomics" blend of economic policies and comes on the heels of the approval of a 28.1 trillion yen (277.74 billion U.S. dollar) stimulus package a day earlier.

However, the appointment of Tomomi Inada, the former head of the LDP's Policy Research Council, as defense minister, replacing Gen Nakatani, was made due to Abe's ongoing push to expand the operational scope of the nation's Self-Defense Forces, observers have said.

Inada, whose appointment will draw the ire of Japan's neighboring countries for her controversial revisionist remarks and options on history, as well as her regular visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine which honors war criminals, will be charged with legislation relating to the SDF's expanding role, ahead of a possible Abe-led national referendum on amending the nation's war-renouncing Constitution.

Inada is the second woman to assume the post of defense minister, following the newly-elected Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.

Also retaining their portfolios in Abe's cabinet are Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Nobuteru Ishihara, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi.

In a bid to reboot Abe's economic policy drive, Kozo Yamamoto, one of the key minds behind "Abenomics," has replaced Shigeru Ishiba as minister for regional revitalization.

Read more at Xinhua