Second Abe Cabinet

Second Abe Cabinet

96th Cabinet of Japan
26 December 201224 December 2014
Prime Minister Shinzō Abe (front row, centre) with the newly-elected cabinet inside the Kantei, December 26, 2012
Date formedDecember 26, 2012
Date dissolvedDecember 24, 2014
People and organisations
Head of stateEmperor Akihito
Head of governmentShinzō Abe
Deputy head of governmentTarō Asō
Member partyLiberal DemocraticNew Komeito Coalition
Status in legislatureDivided Diet (Until 2013)
HoR: Coalition supermajority
HoC: Coalition minority (Before 2013), majority (After 2013)
Opposition partyDemocratic Party of Japan
Opposition leaderBanri Kaieda
History
Elections2012 general election
2013 councillors election
PredecessorNoda Cabinet
SuccessorThird Abe Cabinet

The Second Abe Cabinet governed Japan under the leadership of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe from December 2012 to December 2014. Following the return to power of the LDP in the 2012 general election, Abe, as party president, was elected Prime Minister by the National Diet on December 26, 2012, and presented his cabinet for swearing in by the Emperor later that day. Abe formed a coalition with the New Komeito Party, which has partnered with the LDP since the late 1990s, appointing former leader Akihiro Ota as Minister of Land. Together the two parties controlled a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, allowing the new government in most matters to override the veto of the upper house which was controlled by the opposition parties until July 2013.[1][2]

This cabinet was the most stable in post-war Japanese history, with no ministerial changes for 617 days until Abe conducted a reshuffle on September 3, 2014. The core ministers for Finance, Foreign Affairs, Economic Revival, Education, Land and the Chief Cabinet Secretary were all kept in post. In addition, Abe promoted 3 women to cabinet, matching the Koizumi cabinet's record of 5 women ministers.[3]

Following the 2014 general election, the Second Abe cabinet was dissolved on December 24, 2014, and replaced with the Third Abe cabinet.

  1. ^ New York Times, "Ex-Premier Is Chosen to Govern Japan Again," 26 December 2012
  2. ^ "BBC News – Japan's Shinzo Abe unveils cabinet after voted in as PM". BBC News. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Abe keeps core intact in Cabinet shake-up". Japan Times. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2016.