Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Japan's Prime Minister and the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shinzo Abe, attends a news conference following a victory in the lower house elections by his ruling coalition, at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo Dec. 15, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet resigned on Wednesday, setting the stage for him to launch a new government with a defense minister whose support for Japan having a stronger pre-emptive strike capability could rile China.

Abe has brushed aside suggestions that a record-low election turnout 10 days ago has devauled his victory and vowed to press ahead with his "Abenomics" economic policies and pursue his goal of a more assertive security stance.

Abe will replace Defence Minister Akinori Eto, who has faced questions over his use of political funds, Japanese media said. He is expected to keep the rest of his cabinet unchanged.

The new cabinet, Abe's third since returning to power late in 2012, will be sworn in later on Wednesday.

Abe was expected to tap Gen Nakatani for the defense portfolio in a nod to worries about growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea and China. Nakatani is a former defense minister who is in favor of Japan having the ability to hit enemy bases pre-emptively in the face of imminent attack.

"If you think what would happen if the United States withdrew, we must consider (acquiring) the ability to respond, because we cannot just sit idly and await death," Nakatani told Reuters earlier this year.

His appointment could draw fire from China, especially given Abe's stated goal of a stronger security profile for Japan that includes passing a law in 2015 to reinterpret Japan's pacifist constitution. This would allow Japan to come to the aid of an ally and pave the way for its troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.

The Dec. 14 election, which returned his coalition with a large majority, was billed by Abe as a mandate on his reflationary economic policies that include hyper-easy monetary policy, government spending and promises of deregulation. His Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition partner Komeito maintained their two-thirds "super majority".

Support was lukewarm at best with turnout at a record low 53.3 percent, with many voters torn between their doubts over whether Abe's policies would really help and worries that a weakened opposition could do no better.

Hopes for Abenomics have been dented by data suggesting any recovery is fragile, withJapan slipping back into recession in the third quarter in the wake of an April sales tax rise.

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