TOKYO — Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday unveiled his cabinet as he seeks to heal party divisions and secure a national mandate with an Oct. 27 snap election. The 67-year-old former defense minister, who last week won a close-fought contest to lead the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was confirmed earlier in the day as prime minister by parliament. In his victory speech on Friday, Ishiba spoke about the need to beef up Japan’s security after recent territorial incursions by Chinese and Russian military vessels. Five of the lawmakers who contested the leadership race with him have not been included in his government nor given key party jobs. But despite its troubles, the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the post-war era, remains likely to hold on to power in the upcoming election given Japan’s weak opposition.

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Persons: Shigeru Ishiba, Katsunobu Kato, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Shinzo, Sanae, Takeshi Iwaya, Gen Nakatani, Yoji, Ishiba, Yoshihiko Noda, “, ” Noda Organizations: Liberal Democratic Party, Washington, NATO, Nikkei, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, NHK, LDP, Mainichi, Constitutional Locations: TOKYO, Tokyo, United States, China, Beijing, U.S, East Asia, North Korea, Russian, Japan