THE average tenure of Japanese prime ministers since the second world war has been just over two years. Before Shinzo Abe, the incumbent, took office in 2012, Japan ran through six prime ministers in as many years (including a prior, year-long stint by Mr Abe himself). So the fact that he is nearing four years in the job this time is remarkable in itself. But he seems to be just getting started. His Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) recently decided to extend its leader’s maximum term from six years to nine. That paves the way for Mr Abe to remain in office until 2021, which would make him Japan’s longest-serving post-war leader.
Admittedly, Mr Abe would need to win both a party-leadership contest and a lower-house election to stay in power that long. But he is an extremely successful campaigner, having led the LDP to victory in two elections for the lower house and two for the upper. Mr Abe’s current coalition government holds a commanding majority in both houses of the Diet. Mustering the two-thirds majority in each house that is required to change the constitution seems within his grasp. “He is very powerful,” says an awed...Continue reading
from Asia http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21710018-shinzo-abe-has-accumulated-unprecedented-power-abe-ascendant?fsrc=rss
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