Japan: The Ruling Party Votes to Keep Abe in Charge

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can breathe a sigh of relief. On Sept. 20, Abe prevailed over Shigeru Ishiba in the internal Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election. This victory extends his role as both party head and prime minister for three years. Abe won 329 of 402 (82 percent) votes cast by lawmakers and 224 out of 405 (55 percent) of votes cast by the party's rank and file -- giving him a strong 69 percent of votes overall....