Japan’s parliament re-elects Shinzo Abe as prime minister

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, gestures as he talks with other lawmakers during an extraordinary session at the parliament’s lower house in Tokyo. (Source: AP Photo)

Japan’s lower house of parliament has re-elected Shinzo Abe as prime minister after his party won a resounding victory in a snap election last month.

Abe easily won the race Wednesday with 312 votes in the 465-seat lower house. He is expected to reappoint the same ministers to his Cabinet later in the day.

The 63-year-old Abe dissolved the lower house in late September to force an election. Political analysts saw the move as an attempt to win a fresh public mandate and re-establish his hold on power after a plunge in his approval ratings last summer.

The Oct. 22 election victory boosted Abe’s chances of being re-elected as leader of his Liberal Democratic Party next September to a fresh three-year term. He has been prime minister since December 2012.