Tokyo, May 29 (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday replaced Junichiro Koizumi as the top Japanese government leader who served the third-longest consecutive term in the country’s history.

 
Abe’s second tenure reached the 1,981st straight day, surpassing Koizumi’s stint of 1,980 days.

After seeing his first tenure end in 366 days in September 2007, Abe returned to power in December 2012 and steadily extended his days in office.

If he stays on, Abe’s consecutive term in office will be the second longest on Feb. 21, 2019, by surpassing former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida’s 2,248 days and rank first on Aug. 24, 2020, by overtaking former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato’s 2,798 days.

But improving his record further may not to be an easy task for Abe, with the outlook of his administration becoming increasingly uncertain partly due to a series of favoritism allegations against it.