The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to kick off discussions as soon as next month over whether to revise internal rules to allow Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to run for a third term in the next LDP presidential race to be held by September 2018.
Given the LDP's solid majority in the Diet, the winner of the race is all but certain to be elected by the legislature as the prime minister as well.
But why have party executives started pushing the idea of extending Abe's term? What are the procedures for revising the rules and are they likely to be amended?