Japan's ruling party approved a change in party rules Sunday that could pave the way for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to become the country's longest-serving leader in the post-World War II era. In Japan's parliamentary system, the ruling party leader generally becomes the prime minister. Abe, now in his fifth year in office, is Japan's sixth longest serving prime minister since 1945. He is also the brother of Abe's grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who was prime minister from 1957 to 1960. Jeff Kingston, a Japan expert at Temple University's Japan campus in Tokyo, called Abe the most powerful prime minister in the postwar era.

Source: ABC News March 05, 2017 01:19 UTC