Japan's new Prime Minister Ishiba unveils cabinet ahead of snap election

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 defence minister, who last week won a close-fought contest to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was confirmed earlier in the day as prime minister by parliament. He is scheduled to hold his first press conference later in the day in Tokyo.

The Ishiba administration's approach to diplomacy with Japan's closest ally, the United States, will be in focus, as he has repeatedly called for a more balanced relationship with Washington.

He has also proposed creating an Asian version of the collective security group NATO to deter China, an idea that could draw ire from Beijing and has already been dismissed by a senior U.S. official as hasty.

Ishiba must quell simmering anger at home over rising living costs and a sluggish economy, and navigate a volatile security environment in East Asia fuelled by an increasingly assertive China and nuclear-armed North Korea.

The veteran lawmaker, seen as somewhat of a party outsider who failed at four previous leadership bids, has named a mix of rivals and allies and to a cabinet of 20 ministers that includes only two women, fewer than half the previous administration.

Among the men are two leadership rivals in key positions, Katsunobu Kato as finance minister and Yoshimasa Hayashi to stay on as chief cabinet secretary, a post that includes the role of top government spokesman, the government announced.

The appointment of Kato, a proponent of former premier Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, appears to be a balancing act to alleviate concerns over the next