Former Japanese Defense Minister May Be Reappointed

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to reappoint Itsunori Onodera as Japan's Defense Minister.

The decision will be made in a Cabinet reshuffle scheduled for August 4, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Mr. Itsunori Onodera is expected to be reappointed as Japan's Defense Minister. Photo: Alchetron

With this decision, Mr. Onodera will officially replace Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who was assigned to temporarily take over the duties of Ms. Tomomi Inada after this female Defense Minister resigned on July 28, due to allegations of concealing reports recording the daily activities of Japanese soldiers participating in the United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan.

Mr. Onodera served as Japan's defense minister for nearly two years from 2012, when Mr. Abe returned to power.

The reappointment of Mr. Onodera is considered appropriate by Japanese public opinion, especially in the current context when Japan is facing continuous nuclear missile tests by North Korea, while in the East Sea and East China Sea areas, China still maintains an assertive stance on territorial disputes./.

According to VOV