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JAPAN'S new prime minister announced his cabinet and promised to strengthen ties with the United States amid increased tensions with China.
Shinzo Abe's formal nomination as prime minister ended three years of liberal administrations and restored power to his conservative, pro-big-business party that has run Japan for most of the post-war era.
He promised to pull Japan out of deflation through bold economic measures.
The grandson of a former prime minister, Mr Abe (58) has staged a stunning comeback five years after abruptly resigning as premier in the wake of a one-year term troubled partly by scandals and public outrage over lost pension records.
Parliament voted him in as Japan's seventh prime minister in six years yesterday.
Mr Abe's Liberal Democratic Party surged back to power in the general election earlier this month, three years after a crushing defeat at the hands of the novice Democratic Party of Japan.
China also expressed hope that Mr Abe's cabinet would work with Beijing to improve ties. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
Irish Independent
