Tuesday, September 26 2006 16:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tokyo: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Shinzo Abe was elected Japan's 90th prime minister on Tuesday, taking over the post from his mentor Junichiro Koizumi. Abe, 52, won the election by 339 votes in the 480-member House of Representatives, Japan's lower house which has the final say in selecting a prime minister. The LDP elected Abe last Wednesday as its leader, which assured him the nation's top post because the party holds the majority in the House of Representatives. Japan's youngest prime minister in the post-war era and first to be born after World War II, has said he would seek to change the pacifist constitution.

His other plans include education reform to a more nationalistic approach, engaging in more assertive diplomacy and promoting economic growth. Koizumi's successor was expected to announce his cabinet members later in the day. Abe said that in choosing his cabinet he will break with the LDP's tradition of appointing ministry heads along faction lines but will name those who are qualified for the posts and support his policies. Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso, 66, who came second in the LDP presidential election last Wednesday, is expected to take a key post in the Abe cabinet. Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki, 55, will likely take Abe's old job of top government spokesperson and will also be named to a newly created post, state minister, to deal with North Korean affairs and specifically abduction cases concerning Japanese nationals.