Japan premier Shinzo Abe steps down over health concerns days after he became country's longest-serving PM
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday, August 28, stepped down from his position over declining health. He made the announcement at a press conference in Tokyo saying his health started deteriorating in mid-July. Speculation about the health of Abe, who will turn 66 next month, has been rife over the last few weeks and became strong after he made two visits to the hospital for unspecified medical check-ups. Abe has battled chronic ulcerative colitis for a long time.
"(As the prime minister) I should continuously produce results. So, I have decided that I should not stay on as the prime minister," Abe, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said. He also said he did not want to create a "political vacancy" because of his health reasons. He confirmed that he will continue to get medical treatment for his ailment.
Abe is the East Asian power's longest-serving premier who took over office in December 2012. Abe’s departure will mark a significant transition in both Japan’s internal politics as well as its ties with the US as the outgoing leader made a big contribution towards stabilizing ties with the Donald Trump administration. Earlier, Hiroshige Seko, a party secretary-general for the Upper House of the parliament, informed Abe telling party executives he was quitting as the premier in order to not cause any inconvenience, according to an Associated Press report.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a news conference https://t.co/r2ACTyT1ku
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 28, 2020
Abe, who had served his first term as the premier in 2006-07, earned praise for pulling Japan’s economy out of recession but the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has put the country against a fresh challenge. Abe’s popularity has gone down in recent months not only because of the pandemic but also due to his alleged involvement in a fresh favoritism scandal based in a bid to allow the cabinet nod to extend the mandatory retirement age for high-level public prosecutors.
The premier has also fallen short of formally rewriting the US-drafted pacifist constitution because of plummeting public faith. Abe is from a politically-known family as his maternal grandfather Nobusuke Kishi served as the country’s prime minister between 1957 and 1960. His great-uncle Eisaku Sato also served as the premier between 1964 and 1972.
Abe often focused on making Japan a “normal” and “beautiful” country with a strong military and big role in international affairs. However, one of Abe’s disappointing moments in international affairs came when he got little focus even as his close ally Trump was trying for a reconciliation with North Korea. While China and South Korea made significant appearances in the reconciliation process, Japan was less visible despite having a high stake in regional peace.
Abe stepping down second time after 2007
This is the second time that Abe is set to step down over a medical issue. In 2007, he did the same owing to an inflammatory bowel disease after just one year in office. He came back following a landslide election victory in the Lower House of the Japan parliament — National Diet.
Abe could have served one more year in office. His term as the president of the ruling LDP would have ended in September next year. Abe on Monday, August 24, became Japan’s longest-serving prime minister in terms of consecutive days in office, bettering the record of Sato, who served 2,798 days. But his second hospital visit the same day gave indication that Japan would now have to prepare itself for a post-Abe regime.
Among the names that could possibly replace Abe are 63-year-old hawkish former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba though he is less popular in the ruling party. Fumio Kishida, a low-profile former foreign minister could also be in the race as are Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Economic Revitalization Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of coronavirus measures.