Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Friday that he would resign, finishing his record term in an explosive that is starting a run for leadership in the world’s third-largest economy.
Abe said he suffered from a recurrence of ulcerative colitis that forced him to shorten a first term and that he no longer felt able to remain prime minister.
“Now that I am not in a position to satisfy the mandate of others with confidence, I do not have to hold the position of prime minister,” he said.
While the hypothesis about Abe’s long political career has intensified in recent weeks, after two hospital visits for unspecified fitness checks, resignation came as a surprise.
Even as recently as Friday morning, the government spokesman gave the impression of dismissing considerations about Abe’s fitness and advised him to stay.
But Abe made it clear that this would be possible, and apologised for having shortened his term once.
“I would sincerely like the other Japanese people for leaving my post with a remaining year of my term and amid the misfortunes of the coronavirus,” he said, leaning deeply.
– ‘A surprise’ –
Abe said he will “be firmly duty to the end,” and until the next prime minister is appointed, through a leadership election involving lawmakers and members of the ruling party.
The resignation surprised the markets, with Tokyo’s stock falling by more than 2% towards the end of the afternoon, when news of Abe’s resolution first appeared.
“It’s a big surprise,” said Shinichi Nishikawa, a professor of political science at Meiji University in Tokyo.
“His resignation comes at a time when Japan faces delicate problems, adding measures opposed to the coronavirus,” Nishikawa told the AFP. “
Abe hoped to remain in the workplace until the end of his tenure as LDP leader in September 2021, and the search for a successor is still in his infancy.
However, some successors have already emerged, such as Finance Minister Taro Aso, Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and LDP political leader Fumio Kishida.
Kishida is rumored to be Abe’s non-public election, while Aso commands one of the toughest blocs of the ruling party.
It is noted that most possible successors are particularly breaking with Abe’s policies.
– Bitter resolution –
Abe refused to be attracted to those he would like to see in the highest office, saying that he had “no intention” of influencing the election and that those who ran as candidates were all “very capable.”
Experts said the electoral procedure deserves to take a position in the coming weeks, with a new parliamentary consultation imaginable until October.
Abe’s resolution to resign will be bitterly familiar to the guy who was forced to resign only a year after adjusting to the country’s youngest prime minister.
Since then, he has become the most years-long prime minister in Japan, related to the economic policy that bears his name: Abenomics.
He said his legacy would be in the hands of others to decide, but under pressure in his efforts to bring Barack Obama to Hiroshima, making him the first existing U.S. president at the site of the atomic bombing, one of his proudest achievements.
One of his biggest disappointments, he said, was his inability to bring home the abducted Japanese through North Korea decades ago.
The tributes came from world leaders, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praising Abe’s “wise leadership” for strengthening ties and wishing him a speedy recovery, while the Kremlin praised Abe’s “invaluable contribution” to relations.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that he had “accomplished things.”
A presidential Blue House spokesman in Seoul praised Abe for his “many achievements.”
China is more circumspect, with a foreign Ministry spokesman saying that resignation is an “internal matter” he did not want to comment on.
Abe’s tenure ends when his government faces a drop in approval rates for his handling of the coronavirus crisis, adding a change in recovery and a widely mocked policy of delivering cloth masks to each and every household.
Some in Tokyo were going to criticize Abe after he announced his resignation.
Abe’s departure also means that he will rise to the occasion as the country prepares to host the Tokyo Olympics late due to the coronavirus next year.
mis-hih-si/sah/mtp /