TOKYO | Sun Dec 23, 2012 11:54pm EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Incoming Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might ask upper house lawmaker Yoriko Kawaguchi to return for another stint as foreign minister, Kyodo reported on Monday.

Japan's next foreign minister will serve against a backdrop of rising tensions with China, over a territorial dispute involving uninhabited isles in the East China Sea. Abe has called for a tougher stance toward China.

Abe is now deciding on the lineup for his Cabinet, which is likely to be formally inaugurated on Wednesday, Kyodo said.

Kawaguchi, a career diplomat, served as foreign minister from 2002-2004 under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and she also served as environment minister in 2001 under Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.

Some members of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, which swept to victory in Japan's December 16 election, favor giving the foreign minister post to former financial services minister Toshimitsu Motegi or to former LDP secretary general Nobuteru Ishihara, the Kyodo report said.

Motegi is also being considered as a candidate for economy, trade and industry minister or internal affairs and communications minister.

Abe is likely to tap former defense minister Yuriko Koike as LDP policy chief, a separate Kyodo report said.

(Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Michael Perry)

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1 of 4. A damaged tank is seen at the Free Syrian Army controlled infantry college in the country side in Aleppo December 21, 2012.

DUBAI | Sat Dec 22, 2012 6:05am EST

DUBAI (Reuters) - The installation of Patriot anti-missile batteries sent by NATO members to bolster Turkey's defenses against a possible missile attack from Syria will only harm Turkey's security, Iran's defense minister was quoted as saying on Saturday.

NATO approved Turkey's request for the air defense system earlier this month, in a move meant to calm Ankara's fears of being hit by Syrian missiles.

Iran has strongly supported its Arab ally President Bashar al-Assad of Syria as he attempts to suppress a 21-month-old uprising against his rule. Tehran opposes the installation of NATO missiles as Western interference in the region and has said it could lead to a "world war.

"The installation of Patriot missiles in Turkey plays no role in establishing Turkey's security and this harms the country of Turkey," Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). "The West has always pursued its viewpoints and interests and we disagree with the presence of Western countries in regional interactions."

Vahidi also denied that Iran is training Syrian forces to battle the rebels, ISNA reported. Iran considers itself, Syria's rulers and the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah as part of an "axis of resistance" against U.S. and Israeli power in the Middle East, but has denied accusations that it helping Assad militarily.

"Syria has no need for the training of its forces by the Islamic Republic of Iran, because Syria has a powerful military which has prepared itself for involvement with the Zionist regime (Israel)," Vahidi said.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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