Shinzo Abe set to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister following elections
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe smiles as Abe speaks to the media at the headquarters of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo on Sunday. (AP)
Shinzo Abe is on track to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister after his ruling coalition secured a majority in Japan’s upper house of parliament in elections Sunday.
Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, however, failed to nab enough votes to obtain the super-majority needed to propose constitutions. The prime minister’s ruling bloc and its junior partner Komeito won 71 seats, according to NHK public television on Monday.
Abe’s coalition won super-majority of two-thirds of the seats in the lower chamber. His term is set to end in September 2021, and by mid-November, he will surpass Taro Katsura’s record of 2,886 days as prime minister to become the longest-serving leader.
Abe has already said he will not seek reelection to extend his rule past 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported.
"I believe the people chose political stability, urging us to pursue our policies and carry out diplomacy to protect Japan's national interests," Abe told NHK.
Up for grabs were 124 seats in the less powerful of Japan's two parliamentary chambers. There are 245 seats in the upper house — which does not choose the prime minister — about half of which are elected every three years.
Abe now has a slimmer chance of achieving his long-cherished goal of reforming Japan's postwar pacifist constitution before his term ends in 2021. He’s led his Liberal Democratic Party to five consecutive parliamentary election victors since 2012.
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Abe said resolving the decades-old issue of Japanese citizens abducted to North Korea and signing a peace treaty with Russia would be his diplomatic priorities during the rest of his term.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.