Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Re-Elected After Crushing Election Victory

Shinzo Abe has been re-elected Prime Minister by the Japanese parliament after his Liberal Democratic Party won a resounding victory in parliamentary elections in October.

Abe who has been struggling with low approval ratings amid a series of scandals involving his wife Akie and close friend Kotaro Kake, in late September dissolved the lower house for a snap election.

The premier said he needed a fresh mandate to handle Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats during the election campaign.

His critics, however, said he called a snap election to avoid being grilled by opposition parties over scandals.

Abe has been in power since December 2012. He is expected to retain all members of his current cabinet, which he launched in early August.