Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that the ruling bloc's overwhelming victory in Sunday's general election represented a "historic" level of public confidence in his leadership and that he will take the result as a powerful endorsement of his pet policies, including revising the pacifist Constitution.
With Sunday's victory, Abe silenced doubts about his leadership ahead of imminent meetings with world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump next month. Taking this into account, Abe announced his intention to seek re-election as prime minister at the Diet, possibly as soon as Nov. 1, when a special Diet session is reportedly set to be convened, and then "swiftly launch a new Cabinet."
"I am very grateful that the Japanese public has powerfully encouraged us to move forward with our politics based on the solid foundation of our leadership," Abe told a packed news conference at the headquarters of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party.