Shinzo Abe is elected as Japanese PM

2006 - Shinzo Abe was elected Japan’s prime minister by parliament, becoming at 52 the youngest Japanese leader since the Second World War. Abe, a relative novice by Japanese political standards, faces the challenges of repairing ties with China frayed by predecessor Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni war shrine and keeping economic reforms on track while addressing voter concerns about widening social gaps.