As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confidently put it in reshuffling the Cabinet this week, his administration, following the ruling coalition's sweeping victory in the Upper House election, may indeed have the "most stable political foundation in postwar history." The new Cabinet and party executive lineups seem to underscore Abe's unrivaled grip on power within his Liberal Democratic Party. The question going forward is how he will use this dominant political power to push his policy objectives.

The July 10 race proved the fourth straight national election victory for Abe and his LDP-Komeito alliance. The LDP regained a single-party majority in the Upper House for the first time in 27 years as independents joined the party after the election, and the ruling bloc along with other forces ready to cooperate with his administration now hold a two-thirds majority in both Diet chambers — enough to initiate an amendment to the Constitution for approval in a national referendum.

In the Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, Abe retained key members such as Finance Minister Taro Aso, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida — all holding the same posts since Abe returned to the government's helm in 2012 — while regional revitalization minister Shigeru Ishiba, viewed as a contender to succeed Abe and who at times has been critical of the prime minister, left the Cabinet after reportedly rejecting offers of a new ministerial post. Of the 19 members of his new Cabinet, 13 belong to a cross-partisan conservative parliamentarian group chaired by Abe himself, likely sharing many of the prime minister's political views. Toshihiro Nikai, tapped as the new LDP secretary-general, has been the first to openly suggest extending Abe's second — and supposedly last — term as LDP chief beyond 2018 to let him stay in office longer.