Shinzō Abe summit. October 2018 saw Abe making a landmark trip to China. Despite the Abe administration efforts to promote "multilateralism" on the global scale, Abe conceeded in his China visit the benefits of strong foundations on the bi-lateral level, pledging to see bilateral relations into further "dimensions". China`s enthusiasm with the visit of Japan`s Prime Minister showed reciprocity, with China announcing it`s invitation to Japan to participate in the maritime Belt and Road (丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路) initiative. On 20 September 2018, Abe was re-elected as leader of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The victory puts him on track to become Japan’s longest-serving
Public holidays in Japan Public holidays in Japan Prior to Japan's adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1873, the dates of holidays were based on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thus, New Year's Day, for example, was celebrated at the beginning of spring, as it is in modern China, Korea and Vietnam. Japan has 16 national, government-recognized holidays. The national holidays in 2018 are as follows. <nowiki>*</nowiki> When a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. The national holidays in 2019 are as follows. <nowiki>*</nowiki> When a holiday falls on a Sunday it is celebrated the following Monday. In addition