Shinzo Abe presents his new cabinet. Taro Aso, a Catholic, will be deputy prime minister and Finance minister in the new government. Democratic Party replaces Noda with Banri Kaieda, who was a minister when the Fukushima nuclear disaster unfolded.

Tokyo (AsiaNews) - Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has presented the members of his new cabinet. He also announced that economic growth was the first "pillar" of his policies and expressed renewed interest in nuclear power.

After winning the confidence of parliament, Abe named his new ministers. Taro Aso, 72 and a Catholic, was appointed Finance minister and deputy prime minister. Yoshihide Suga was appointed chief cabinet secretary, and Fumio Kishida is set to take over another key department, Foreign Affairs.

Aso is one of the few Catholics in Japanese politics. In 2008-2009, he was prime minister. At the height of the financial crisis, he tried to boost the economy with a stimulus package. However, his efforts did not go very far and his administration was marred in gaffes, scandals and flops that led the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan to lose power after more than 50 years in power.

"With the strength of my entire cabinet, I will implement bold monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy that encourages private investment, and with these three policy pillars, achieve results," Abe told reporters in Tokyo. He also vowed to strengthen the strategic alliance with the United States.

New Economy, trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he was ready to give the go-ahead to resuming generation at nuclear power plants "if they are confirmed safe". In fact, the new administration will do its utmost to develop renewable energies, the minister said.

Reactors will not be restarted before their safety is guaranteed by the independent authority on the basis of scientific knowledge. "We will not immediately be declaring 'yes or no,' but we will collect experts' opinions in order to make a major political decision in the future, Motegi said.

The previous left-of-centre government of Yoshihiko Noda had pledged to phase out nuclear power by 2030, a goal not shared by the incoming administration.

Meanwhile the opposition is undergoing changes at the top. The Democratic Party of Japan chose Banri Kaieda, a former minister of Economy, Trade and Industry as its new leader in lieu of outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who lost the recent elections and came under attack within the party.

Kaieda, 63, was in the cabinet when the Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred in March 2011 and is remembered for weeping during the press conference in which he announced his resignation.

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