Ex-PM Abe becomes head of largest faction in Japan's ruling party

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday became head of the largest faction within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party upon his return to the intraparty bloc following a nine-year absence.Abe was officially named successor to Hiroyuki Hosoda, a former chief Cabinet secretary, by faction members during a meeting Thursday, a day after Hosoda was elected speaker of the House of Representatives.In 2012, Abe left the faction, then led by the late former Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, before his second stint as prime minister, and had not joined an intraparty bloc even after …READ FULL ARTICLE