Tokyo, Jumada II 5, 1438, Mar 4, 2017, SPA -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sunday approved extending the term limits of the party's president, a change which could see Prime Minister Shinzo Abe become the longest serving premier in the postwar era, according to dpa. The LDP decided to extend the term to three consecutive terms for a total of nine years from the current two straight terms for six years. The revision could allow Abe to remain in office until 2021 as his tenure as LDP president will expire in September 2018. The 62-year-old hawkish leader took office in December 2012, vowing to reinvigorate the world's third-largest economy. But his government has failed to achieve long-term economic growth ever since. Abe earlier served as premier for a year, during which he was dogged by a string of scandals involving his cabinet ministers, before resigning in September 2007. The current longest-serving prime minister in the postwar era is Eisuke Sato who served from November 1964 to July 1972. --SPA 07:19 LOCAL TIME 04:19 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w345863