Shinzo Abe, Japanese prime minister, on Monday named a cabinet of veterans in an effort to restore credibility to his administration after it suffered a massive defeat in last month's upper house elections.

Mr Abe has persuaded some heavyweights to join his new cabinet, though others, including Sadakazu Tanigaki, an opponent and would-be-successor, have not been co-opted into what some politicians and analysts regard as a sinking ship.

Jeff Kingston, professor of Asian studies at Temple University, said: "He's brought in a lot of veterans and got rid of those who couldn't shoot straight."

Jesper Koll, president of Tantallon Research Japan, part of an Asian hedge fund, said: "This is a regrouping of the orchestra and it's going to play the same old song over again. I'd be very surprised if the approval rating rebounds with this cabinet."

Kaoru Yosano, 69, named as chief cabinet secretary, admitted there was no "magic wand" capable of restoring Mr Abe's popularity. Mr Abe, the youngest prime minister since the war, began his term last September with approval ratings in the high 60s but these slumped to the low 20s, according to some polls, thanks to a catalogue of scandals and an impression that he had failed to read the public mood.

The future of Mr Abe, who refused to follow the precedent of resigning to take responsibility for his party's electoral thrashing, will largely depend on his ability to work with the upper house, now controlled by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

The first, and possibly decisive, battle will centre on the extension of special anti-terrorism measures that allow Japan's self-defence forces to refuel allied ships in the Indian Ocean. Opposition leaders say their party will oppose the extension of the measures beyond November 1, a stance intended to embarrass Mr Abe's administration both at home and abroad.

"This is a very belligerent opposition that is smelling blood," said Mr Koll. "Ichiro Ozawa [the DPJ's leader] and his henchman have made it very clear they are not going to co-operate."

Among big names joining the cabinet are Fukushiro Nukaga, 63, a former defence minister, who becomes finance minister. Mr Nukaga had been touted as a possible compromise candidate to replace Mr Abe when talk of forcing the prime minister's resignation was at its height in the days after the election defeat.

Taro Aso, 66, former foreign minister and the favourite to succeed Mr Abe, has been named secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, a heavyweight role from which a run at the premiership might be possible. He is replaced by Nobutaka Machimura, 62, a faction boss and a conservative who held the foreign ministry post under Junichiro Koizumi, Mr Abe's predecessor.

Possibly the most interesting appointing is that of Yoichi Masuzoe, 58, who called for Mr Abe's resignation after the electoral defeat. Mr Masuzoe said the prime minister had failed to understand people's concerns about growing disparities of wealth and the parlous state of social services.

His appointment, as health minister, is likely to be seen as Mr Abe's willingness to embrace critics after a first cabinet that was said to be stacked with friends and yes-men. Mr Masuzoe will be in charge of sorting out the problem of more than 50m lost pension records, an administrative fiasco that infuriated the electorate and added to Mr Abe's defeat.

Those ejected from the cabinet included Hakuo Yanagisawa, head of the health ministry when the pensions story broke and author of the phrase "breeding machines", a description of women that helped alienate the female vote.

Yasuhisa Shiozaka, the financially savvy but unpopular chief cabinet secretary, was also sacked. Yuriko Koike, the first female defence minister, stepped down after only a few weeks in office during which she fought bitterly with the bureaucracy. She was replaced by Masahiko Komura, a former foreign minister.