Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday found himself in a familiar spot, with a majority of lawmakers casting their votes for him as prime minister just as they did on Oct. 4.
As was the case early last month, Kishida also formed a new Cabinet, albeit with only one change following former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi's appointment to the post of Liberal Democratic Party secretary-general.
While on the surface Wednesday's special legislative session to re-elect the prime minister might have appeared to be purely ceremonial, one aspect was clearly different from last month: Kishida is now on much more solid footing within the party after he pulled the LDP through what was projected to be a difficult Lower House election.