Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s sweeping return to power, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in a nation that had been notorious for a revolving door of prime ministers.

Abe, who made a comeback to the nation’s top job in December 2012, is widely expected to seek a historic third term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a leadership election slated for September next year. His victory in the LDP election, if achieved, would in turn put him on course to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, extending his term until September 2021.

“I have faced numerous challenges in my five-year term in office, but the strong public support represented by a fifth consecutive election win — three in the Lower House and two in the Upper House — has allowed me to surmount those difficulties,” Abe told reporters in his office on Tuesday morning.

“I feel as refreshed and responsible as I did in the morning exactly five years ago. I will wholeheartedly dedicate myself to the people of Japan,” he said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the top government spokesman, lauded Abe for his strong leadership abilities and his “policy-oriented” attitude.

“Ever since our administration took off, we have put the biggest emphasis on revitalizing the economy,” Suga said, citing labor ministry statistics released Tuesday that showed the job-to-applicants ratio inched up to 1.56 in November, the highest since January 1974.

Suga also acknowledged the country’s challenges — including Pyongyang’s relentless nuclear and military threats as well as the fact that Japan’s population continues to age and shrink at “the world’s fastest pace.” He expressed the administration’s determination to “produce results” as it takes on those issues.

The longevity of Abe’s leadership, which is partly driven by a weak opposition, contrasts sharply with the high turnover experienced by his predecessors, including leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan who were bedeviled by infighting, broken promises and devastation from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Next year will put Abe at a crossroads as he mulls a bid to run for a third term and, perhaps more controversially, ponders his move to call Japan’s first-ever referendum on revising the postwar Constitution — his longtime goal.

Abe’s ruling coalition and its allies currently control a two-thirds supermajority needed to initiate a referendum in both houses of the Diet.

But any hint of Abe’s disregard for the opposition could quickly reignite criticism over perceived hubris that sent his popularity plummeting this past summer. Such a replay would significantly damage his chances of winning a vote.

Opposition lawmaker Seiji Osaka, policy chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said the last five years witnessed Abe riding roughshod over the principle of democracy and the Constitution as he campaigned for a number of unprecedented bills.

Not least was a law that critics say grants the government leeway to designate whatever it considers sensitive information as a state secret, as well as security legislation that has significantly expanded the legal scope of overseas activities of the Self-Defense Forces.

“The way Prime Minister Abe is shaping our country is extremely reckless,” Osaka said.

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the conservative opposition party Kibo no To (Party of Hope), thinks highly of the progress Abe has made in shoring up stocks and improving employment.

“But upon a closer look, the rising stocks are actually a result of the massive buying by the Bank of Japan and alike, while increased employment is a testament to the severity of our labor shortage,” Tamaki said, adding that although the Abe administration has done well in some regards, it can no longer “procrastinate” on hammering out fundamental solutions to Japan’s numerous woes.