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Japan PM picks revisionist as defense chief in new Cabinet
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (center) stands with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso (second left) and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) during the official triennial Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet review aboard the JMSDF escort ship Kurama in the waters off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo, Oct. 18, 2015. (Kyodo News via AP/Kazuhiko Yamashita, File)
A woman with revisionist views of World War II history has been named Japan's defense minister in a Cabinet reshuffle.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe changed more than half of the 19-member Cabinet on Wednesday in a bid to support his economic, security and other policy goals.
Former ruling party executive Tomomi Inada will replace Gen Nakatani as defense minister. She will be the second female to fill the post. Her appointment could unsettle relations with Asian neighbors with bitter memories of World War II atrocities.
Abe replaced 10 ministers, though he retained his foreign and finance ministers.
As promised in a recent election campaign, Abe is expected to focus on economic revitalization initially, while later seeking to revise Japan's war-renouncing postwar constitution.
