TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Shigeru Ishiba, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is suspected of having fallen asleep during a plenary session of the House of Representatives in which he was reelected as prime minister.

After video footage showing Ishiba looking down and briefly closing his eyes while waiting for the vote count was posted on social media, users commented with remarks like, "I can't believe he's sleeping like that."

A veteran lawmaker of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lambasted Ishiba, saying, "If he was really asleep, that shows his marked lack of tension." He defeated Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the CDPJ, the main opposition party, in a runoff.

Ishiba appears to have had his eyes closed during the first vote while other lawmakers were being called for roll call. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who was sitting next to Ishiba, was seen looking at him with concern.