TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed a former soldier and security veteran as his new defense minister, as he prepares to push through legislation to toughen the country's military stance amid a dispute with China.
Gen Nakatani, 57, was appointed to the post Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo. All other Cabinet members will remain in their current posts, Suga said.
He served as head of the defense agency in 2001-02 before it was upgraded to a ministry in 2007. He was the first former military official to reach that position, having served for about five years in the Ground Self-Defense Force before entering politics.
"He is a former member of the self-defense forces, so he understands security from the ground level and he has been closely involved in policy issues," said Tetsuo Kotani, senior research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs in Tokyo. "I wouldn't categorize him either as a hawk or a dove. I would say he's a realist."
The replacement of Akinori Eto, who was criticized in parliament in October over alleged financial impropriety, comes as Abe seeks to pass a series of bills to back up his reinterpretation of the pacifist constitution. Polls show the change, which allows Japan to defend other countries, is unpopular with the public.
"This is to ensure the security of the Japanese people," Nakatani wrote on his website on the legislation. "The understanding and support of the people is needed above all."
Since taking office in December 2012, Abe has bolstered the country's defenses as Japanese and Chinese coastguard ships tail one another around East China Sea islands claimed by both countries. Abe reversed an 11-year decline in defense spending and passed a bill toughening penalties for leaking state secrets.
A planned revision of guidelines for defense cooperation with the United States, Japan's only formal ally, has been put off to the first half of next year, to ensure coherence with the legislative process.
"For America, he is an old friend," Kotani said. "As a lawmaker he's been involved in a lot of foreign issues, so his face is known and for China and South Korea he's not a complete unknown. So that may be reassuring for them."
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