Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday vowed to make an all-out effort to tackle his policy goals such as ending deflation, dealing with the nation's aging population and declining birthrate, as well as revising the Constitution, with his pledge coming against a backdrop of past and more recent controversies, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The Japanese leader made the remarks as he became the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history on Wednesday, marking 2,887 days in office during his current tenure since returning to power in 2012 and in a brief stint at the helm between 2006-2007.
"I still have nearly two years left in my term as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Under the weight of my responsibility, I will make an all-out effort to tackle policy goals, remembering the time when I first started out feeling nervous as if walking on thin ice," Abe, speaking from his office, told reporters.
Abe, 65, said that there are some key policies on his agenda that he still intends to tackle, with these including declaring an end to deflation, tackling the issue of the country's aging population coupled with a declining birth rate and resolving diplomatic challenges left unaddressed since the end of World War II.
"Beyond that, revising the Constitution is also on the horizon," Abe added.
His legacy-led goal of amending the Constitution for the first time since WWII, however, has not been a smooth one, having failed to garner the requisite number of seats in an upper house election this year amid a lack of public support and disapproval from the opposition camp.
On Aug. 24, 2020, provided he stays in power, Abe will have served the longest uninterrupted period as the nation's leader since former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, who served as the nation leader for 2,798 consecutive days.
Abe's current term as prime minister and leader of the ruling LDP is set to end in September 2021 and under party rules his current term should be his final one an.