Active After Retirement, Japan's Abe Says "If It Were Me, I Would Dissolve the House of Representatives in January Next Year"

Revealed as a joke during a dinner with LDP lawmakers on the 11th
Expectations grow for LDP President and Prime Minister's return to office

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyeon-jin] Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly said at a meeting with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers that "if it were me, it would be January next year" regarding the timing of the dissolution of the House of Representatives, Kyodo News reported on the 12th.

Less than two months after his resignation, former Prime Minister Abe has been actively continuing his political activities, raising speculation that he might once again challenge the LDP presidency and the prime ministership.

According to the report, Abe made this remark jokingly during a dinner the previous night at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo with LDP acting secretary-general Seiko Noda and former policy research council chairman Fumio Kishida, who were elected to the House of Representatives in 1993 alongside him.

The dinner was held to console Abe, who resigned in September due to health reasons, and some attendees reportedly expressed their hopes for Abe's political comeback. If Abe challenges the LDP presidency and prime ministership again, it would be his third time.

On the same day, Abe was appointed chairman of the "Parliamentary League for Considering Post-Corona Economic Policies," composed of LDP lawmakers. This group replaced the Abe-supporting organization "Meeting to Make Abenomics Successful," previously led by former Minister for Regional Revitalization Kozo Yamamoto, with Abe taking over as chairman.

The conservative and right-wing lawmakers' group "Sosei Nippon," which was virtually dormant during Abe's tenure as prime minister, is also expected to resume activities soon. Sosei Nippon is a conservative faction within the LDP that supported Abe's victory in the 2012 LDP presidential election.

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