Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been re-elected chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, by default. No one filed for candidacy for the party presidential election set for September 20th.
LDP candidates had a half hour to file this morning. But senior lawmakers Seiko Noda, who has expressed her intention to challenge Abe, gave up at last after failing to muster the required support of 20 party lawmakers.
Abe's current term as LDP president expires on September 30th. His term will now last three more years, to the end of September 2018.