Although media coverage of his trip to Russia has kept Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the spotlight during the run-up to the leadership election for his Liberal Democratic Party, he failed to achieve any major breakthrough on key diplomatic matters.Already projected to easily beat his sole rival, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, in the Sept. 20 election and remain as prime minister with support from a majority of LDP lawmakers, Abe had no concerns about being away from Japan for four days during the leadership campaign period."It was impossible for Mr. Ishiba to make headlines…READ FULL ARTICLE
