Abe's drive to reform Constitution linked to his re-election odds

It is widely viewed that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be re-elected as president of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party in its leadership race in September 2018, grabbing a chance to become Japan's longest-serving leader.But a possible failure in the process of pursing his long-cherished goal of achieving the first-ever amendment to Japan's pacifist Constitution could deal a blow to Abe and weaken his re-election prospects in the year, seen as otherwise eventless in Japanese politics, political experts say.In 2017, the 63-year-old prime minister saw his approval ratings plunge at one poin…READ FULL ARTICLE