Tokyo — Japan’s Shinzo Abe was re-elected prime minister on Wednesday after his ruling bloc’s big election win last month and days ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump that is expected to be dominated by concern over a volatile North Korea. Abe took office in December 2012, promising to reboot the stale economy and bolster defence. His Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition retained its two-thirds "super majority" in parliament’s lower house in the October 22 election, re-energising his push to revise the post-war, pacifist constitution. Abe was expected to reappoint current cabinet ministers and tell them to compile an extra budget for the year to March 31 2018 focusing on child care and boosting productivity. In a telephone conversation on Monday, Abe and Trump agreed to work together on steps to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile development. Trump told Abe that "he is looking forward to his visit to Japan, that Japan and America are 100% together and there is no ro...
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