TOKYO (JAPAN) – Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced on Friday that he was stepping down citing poor health.
“I cannot be prime minister if I cannot make the best decisions for the people. I have decided to step down from my post,” Abe, 65, told the media.
The premier has been battling ulcerative colitis for years and two recent hospital visits sparked speculation whether he would remain in power until his term expires in September next year.
With Abe stepping down, there will be a leadership race in his party and the winner must be formally elected in parliament.
In December 2012, the conservative Abe returned to power for a second time and vowed to boost growth with his “Abenomics” featured by hyper-easy monetary policy, fiscal spending and reforms. He also pledged to bolster the nation’s defences and revise the pacifist constitution.
His handling of the pandemic and scandals of his party members caused his ratings to tank.
Though the nation has been spared of the gargantuan number of infections witnessed in other countries, Abe was blamed for his clumsy early response to the pandemic and lack of leadership.
The nation witnessed its biggest economic recession in the second quarter when the pandemic emptied shopping avenues and pulverised demand for cars and other exports.
Abe stuck to his promise to bolster military spending.
In a watershed decision in 2014, his government re-interpreted the constitution allowing Japanese soldiers to fight overseas for the first time since World War Two.
A year later, the country scrapped the ban on using the right of collective self-defence or defending a friendly country under attack.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.