Shinzo Abe denies intent to seek a fourth term

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is currently serving his third consecutive three-year term as head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). To make that possible, the party had to change its internal rules.

Will the LDP change them so that Abe can access a fourth term, which would allow him to continue as prime minister?

The prime minister put a stop to speculation in an interview on Sunday.

"I'm not thinking (in a fourth term) at all," Abe said, according to Jiji Press.

"I still have a year and nine months. I'm determined to devote as much as I can to my work," he emphasized.

Abe is the longest-serving prime minister in Japan's history. (International Press)