Shinzo Abe(3rd L), leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), bows as he is re-elected as prime minister, in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 1, 2017. Shinzo Abe was reelected as Japan's prime minister on Wednesday in both chambers of parliament. (Xinhua/Ma Ping)
Shinzo Abe, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was reelected as Japan's prime minister on Wednesday in both chambers of parliament.
Abe's continued tenure as the nation's premier was guaranteed by a majority vote in the lower house which he secured, with the lower chamber having final authority on the matter as decreed by Japan's constitution.
As Abe's ruling coalition, which includes the junior partner Komeito party, holds a majority in the upper house, the vote for Abe as prime minister in the upper chamber, which also went his way, was merely a formality.
Abe will be officially named as Japan's new prime minister and will hold talks with Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi, and inaugurate a new cabinet later in the day.
Abe is set to reappoint all the members of the outgoing cabinet, informed sources have said.
Before the special session of the parliament, which will run through Dec. 9, convened Wednesday, Abe's cabinet resigned en masse.
His fourth cabinet since Abe retook the helm in 2012, will be sworn in at an attestation ceremony later in the day at the Imperial Palace.
The lower house on Wednesday, in a widely expected move, also reelected house Speaker Tadamori Oshima and selected Hirotaka Akamatsu, a member of the now main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) as vice speaker.
The LDP's solid performance in the Oct. 22 lower house election has raised the chances that Abe will run in the LDP leadership contest next September and upped the premier's chances of becoming the longest serving prime minister since World War II.
