Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is no doubt poised to lead a long-running administration. Since his current government was launched in December 2012, Abe has led his ruling coalition to big wins in two Lower House elections and two Upper House elections. Today, his Cabinet enjoys sufficiently strong popular approval ratings of around 50 percent.

If he is re-elected to a third term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party next year, he can stay in office through summer 2021, thus remaining at the government's helm for nine years. In that sense, the Abe administration, now in power for nearly five years, is roughly at its halfway point.

Here I would like to make a midterm review of the Abe administration's economic policies.