Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe Resigns Citing Health Reasons

TOKYO (Japan): Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he plans to resign because of declining health.

Speaking to reporters Friday in Tokyo, Abe said he has decided to step down from the post since he is suffering from a recurrence of the ulcerative colitis that ended his first term in office in 2007.

Abe, whose term would have ended in September 2021, is expected to stay on until a new party leader, who will serve as prime minister, is elected and approved by the parliament.

Speculation about Abe’s resignation emerged earlier this year after visits to a Tokyo hospital for health checkups. No details were made public at the time.

The 65-year-old Abe had acknowledged suffering ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager, and said he was undergoing treatment for the condition.

On Monday, Abe became Japan’s longest-serving prime minister by breaking the record of his great-uncle, Eisaku Sato, who served 2,798 days from 1964-72.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index closed down 1.5% on Friday after reports of Abe’s intentions.

Earlier:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a hospital Monday for what sources say was a follow-up to his regular checkup, although the visit generated renewed worries about his health.

Video from TV Tokyo showed a black car believed to be carrying Abe pulling into Keio University Hospital in Tokyo.

The prime minister’s office declined to comment on the hospital visit, saying it was not on his official schedule. Abe has been on a summer break recently, as has much of Japan.

Abe, 65, has had health concerns before. He was forced to step down in 2007 after just one year in office due to complications from ulcerative colitis.  He says the condition is now under control with medication.

Although Abe sometimes goes to his summer home in the countryside about this time of year, he has stayed in Tokyo amid widespread concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, according to Kyodo.

Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader, is in his second tenure as prime minister.

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