Parliament elects conservative Shinzo Abe as Japan's new prime minister

TOKYO – The lower house of Parliament has named conservative Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) as Japan's new prime minister.

The rise of Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, ends more than three years at the helm for the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan and brings back the conservative, pro-big business Liberal Democratic Party that governed for most of the post-World War II era.

Abe, who was also prime minister in 2006-2007, led the LDP to victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. He was to name his Cabinet later Wednesday after a vote in Parliament's upper house, where his party is weaker. But the lower house has the final say.