Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe retained Taro Aso and key ally Yoshihide Suga in their roles as finance minister and chief cabinet minister, respectively, in a pre-announced reshuffle of his cabinet, Reuters reported.

Aso was also reappointed as deputy prime minister. He has held both positions since late 2012, when Abe rose to the prime minister's post.

Hiroshige Seko was reappointed as the trade minister.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was replaced by Taro Kono and Defense Minister Tomomi Inada was replaced by Itsunori Onodera, according to the newswire.

The reshuffle comes as Abe tries to bolster this sagging popularity.