Prime Minister Shinzo Abe became Japan's longest-serving prime minister on Wednesday, having served 2,887 days and surpassing Taro Katsura, who held office during the Meiji and Taisho eras.
Abe first became prime minister in 2006, but his administration lasted only a year due to scandals involving his Cabinet ministers and his own deteriorating health. In the aftermath, the nation's top political leadership changed hands six times in six years, leaving the political realm unstable. But Abe's Liberal Democratic Party managed to regain power in the December 2012 Lower House election and his reign has since continued uninterrupted for almost seven years, bringing stability to Japanese politics and enabling him to pursue bold policies.
Abe should get credit for that, but it is also true the length of a regime does not alone determine the quality of its leader.