Liberal Democratic Party leader Mr. Shinzo Abe on Wednesday formed his Cabinet after the Diet nominated him as Japan's new prime minister. This is his second tenure as prime minister, with the LDP returning to power after an absence of three years and three months.
In the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the LDP and its ally Komeito secured more than two-thirds of the seats in the Diet chamber, theoretically making it possible for the coalition to overturn decisions by the Upper House on legislative bills.
But in running the government, the new LDP-Komeito government should humbly listen to the opinions of other parties as well as those of the general public. The LDP's overwhelming victory was due not to voters' positive support for the party but rather to their desire to punish the Democratic Party of Japan, which failed to carry out many of its election promises after it took power in the August 2009 Lower House election.