Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected to the post in the Diet on Wednesday and was set to launch his new Cabinet later in the day.
Following a landslide election victory on Dec. 14, Abe is expected to reappoint all previous Cabinet members except for Defense Minister Akinori Eto, who reportedly refused the post.
Eto is to be replaced by Gen Nakatani, a Lower House member who served as the director general of the then Defense Agency in 2001 and 2002.