He was appointed director of military service affairs in the Army Ministry on 28 July 1926 and was promoted to lieutenant general on 5 March 1927.

In January 1932, Abe was appointed to command the Japanese Taiwan Army and was promoted to full general on 19 June 1933.

From the civilian side, Konoe Fumimaro or Hirota Kōki were regarded as front-runners, but the Army and the ultranationalists strongly supported General Ugaki Kazushige.

During a reign which lasted only four months, Abe sought to end as quickly as possible the Second Sino-Japanese War, and to maintain Japan's neutrality in the growing European conflict.

He also opposed to efforts by elements within the Army to form a political-military alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Increasingly lacking in support from either the military or the political parties, Abe was replaced by Mitsumasa Yonai in January 1940.

[4] After his return to Japan, Abe joined the House of Peers in 1942, and accepted the largely-ceremonial position as president of the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association.

After World War II, Abe was purged from public office and arrested by the American occupation government.