Tokyo, Nov 20 (UNI) Shinzo Abe became the longest-serving Prime Minister by marking his 2,887th day in office on Wednesday.
Mr Abe overtook Taro Katsura, who led the country for 2,886 days in the early 1900s, The Japan Times said.
In 2006, 52-year-old Abe became Japan’s youngest prime minister, but left office a year later amidst scandal and questions over his health.
The leader became the premier for a second time at the end of 2012 promising to restore the economy after two decades of stagnation, strengthen Japan’s military and revise constitutional.
The leader is in the eye of the storm over inviting too many of his supporters to a costly cherry blossom viewing party, forcing the government to scrap the annual event next year.
Though Mr Abe failed to enact structural reforms, analysts say he has benefitted from a weak and divided opposition and a desire for stability among voters.
‘Abe’s tenure has made Japan an island of political stability even as other advanced industrial democracies have suffered from weak, unpopular, or short-lived governments over the course of the decade,’ said Tobias Harris, a Japan expert and vice-president of Teneo Intelligence, a Washington-based consultancy.
