Abe Reelected LDP Leader to Stay in Power

Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)--Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was reelected president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday, securing the continuation of his government for up to three more years. Taking the victory as credit for his handling of the government since he returned as prime minister in December 2012, Abe is poised to redouble his efforts to revise the Japanese constitution, his long-cherished political aim, as well as to make sure that the country is no longer in deflation. Earlier this year, public support for Abe's cabinet plunged due to a spate of scandals engulfing the administration, including cronyism allegations against him. But in the party leadership poll, Abe, 63, won a third consecutive three-year term by beating his sole contender, Shigeru Ishiba, 61, who has served as defense minister and in other ministerial posts, as well as LDP secretary-general, by a vote of 553 to 254. Three lawmakers casted blank votes. At a press conference following his victory, Abe expressed a wish to introduce a draft constitutional revision during an extraordinary session of the Diet, the country's parliament, seen starting soon. "Once a conclusion is reached in a leadership election, the LDP becomes united and goes ahead," Abe said. "That's our tradition." "We'll take on the challenge of revising the constitution at last, which has not been achieved even once in the last 70-plus years," he also said. The LDP leader said he will discuss with Komeito, his party's partner in the ruling coalition, to prepare for the submission of a draft revised constitution. Abe also said the government will submit a supplementary budget for fiscal 2018 to the forthcoming Diet session in the wake of a series of natural disasters, such as big earthquakes and heavy rains. Abe won the previous LDP poll by default three years ago. The party last year revised its rules to allow its president to serve up to three terms in a row for a total of nine years, against the previous limit of two consecutive terms for six years. During his new term through September 2021, Abe will spearhead the party's campaign in a series of local elections in 2019 and a triennial election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, in the same year, and work to lead the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to success. Abe plans to reshuffle his cabinet and the party's executive team as early as Oct. 1, after his trip to the United States next week to attend the U.N. General Assembly session and the Sept. 30 gubernatorial election in Okinawa Prefecture. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso are likely to be retained, informed sources said. Foreign Minister Taro Kono and economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi are also tipped to stay on. Abe is on course to become the country's longest-serving prime minister in November 2019, including his previous 13-month stint that ended in September 2007. Abe is now ranked fifth. The current record holder is Taro Katsura, who was in office for a total of 2,886 days between 1901 and 1913. To Abe, how to restore trust is a big question as Ishiba, critical of Abe, fared better in the party election than many had expected. The voting rate of regional LDP members stood at 61.74 pct, down 0.77 percentage point from the 2012 leadership election. Abe obtained only 55.3 pct of the total votes by regional LDP members, against 81.8 pct garnered from national lawmakers. Ishiba won support from nonlawmaker party members to some extent. END