Japan's Abe set for second term, to tap allies for cabinet

TOKYO: Shinzo Abe will be voted in as prime minister by parliament's lower house on Wednesday, giving the hawkish lawmaker a second chance at Japan's top job as the country battles deflation and confronts a rising China.

Abe, 58, whose party surged back to power in this month's election, has promised a two-pronged policy of aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan and big fiscal spending by the debt-laden government to slay deflation and rein in the strong yen that makes Japanese exports more costly.

The grandson of a former prime minister, Abe has staged a stunning comeback five years after abruptly resigning as premier in the wake of a one-year term troubled by scandals in his cabinet, public outrage over lost pension records and a devastating defeat for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a 2007 upper house poll.

Abe looks set to pick a slate of close allies leavened by some LDP rivals to fend off the criticism of cronyism that dogged his first administration. Parliament meets from 1 p.m. (0400 GMT).

Japanese media have said Abe will name former prime minister
Taro Aso, 72, as finance minister, ex-trade and industry minister Akira Amari as minister in charge of a new economic revival headquarters and policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as trade minister. Motegi will also be tasked with formulating energy policy in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year.

Loyal Abe backer Yoshihide Suga is expected to become chief cabinet secretary, a key post combining the job of top government spokesman with responsibility for coordinating among ministries.

Others who share Abe's agenda to revise the pacifist constitution and rewrite Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone have also been floated for posts.

"These are really LDP right-wingers and close friends of Abe," said Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. "It really doesn't look very fresh at all."