Tokyo, Dec 24 (IANS): With Shinzo Abe getting re-elected as Japan's prime minister Wednesday, Gen Nakatani has been appointed the new defence minister.
Other than him, all other cabinet members will retain their positions, Xinhua reported. Defence minister Akinori Eto declined the reappointment due to a political fund scandal.
Gen. Nakatani had previously served as head of the Japan Defence Agency under former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Abe won 328 votes out of the 470 cast by lawmakers in a special session of the lower house earlier in the day.
The victory by the ruling Liberal Democrats and their coalition partner the Komei Party was viewed as an endorsement by the public of Abe's strategies for reviving Japan's stagnant economy.
This is Abe's third term as prime minister.
Abe served for a year as prime minister from 2006 to 2007. His second term started from 2012.