Abe resigns as PM due to poor health

Leadership race kicks off in third largest economy, Tokyo stocks tumble over 2%

Tokyo, Aug. 28: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Friday he will resign, ending his record-breaking tenure in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership race in the world’s thirdlargest economy.

Abe said he is suffering a recurrence of the ulcerative colitis that forced him to cut short a first term in office and said that he no longer felt able to continue as prime minister.

“There must not be time when I am not able to deliver results,” he said, speaking in a calm but sombre voice.

“Now that I am not able to fulfil the mandate from the people with confidence, I have decided that I should no longer occupy the position of the prime minister.” While speculation about Abe’s political future has been growing in recent weeks, after he twice visited hospital for unspecified health checks, the resignation nonetheless came as a surprise.

Even as recently as Friday morning, the government’s spokesman had appeared to dismiss concerns about Abe’s health and suggested he would stay on in office.

But Abe made clear that would not be possible, and offered apologies for once again having to cut short his tenure.

“I would like to sincerely apologise to the people of Japan for leaving my post with one year left in my term of office, and amid the coronavirus woes, while various policies are still in the process of being implemented,” he said, bowing deeply.

Abe said he would “firmly execute my duty to the end,” and until the next prime minister is appointed, a process that is expected to require a leadership election involving ruling party lawmakers and members.

The resignation shocked the markets, with Tokyo stocks plunging more than two percent towards the end of afternoon trade when reports of Abe’s decision first emerged.

“It was a big surprise”, said Shinichi Nishikawa, a professor of political science at Meiji University in Tokyo.

“His resignation comes at a time when Japan is facing tough issues, including measures against the Coronavirus,” Nishikawa said.

The Kremlin on Friday hailed Shinzo Abe’s contribution to bilateral ties between Moscow and Tokyo after the Japanese Prime Minister announced his resignation for health reasons.

Russia’s relationship with Japan has been overshadowed by a decadeslong territorial dispute over Tokyo’s claim to a chain of islands seized by the Soviet Union in the final days of World War II.

“Shinzo Abe really made an invaluable contribution to the development of bilateral Russian-Japanese relations,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin and Abe met many times to try to find a solution to the impasse over the Kuril islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday she “regrets” the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on health grounds, hailing his “fight for multilateralism”. Merkel said she and her fellow veteran leader in the Group of Seven industrialised nations had a “shared foundation of values”.

“I of course regret his resignation and wish him all the best for his health,” she told reporters. “We always worked very, very well together... He was always someone who committed himself to the fight for multilateralism.” —