Prime Minister Abe's Resignation and His Health Concerns

Writer: Chikako Osawa-Horowitz

On Friday 28 August, Japanese Prime Minister Abe held a press conference which was broadcast live by all the media in Japan and where he announced his resignation as Japan's Prime Minister. Foreign media reported the news as the second biggest story in the UK after the stories of the American President, Donald Trump.

According to Japanese media reports, the Prime Minister said at the press conference, that he had decided to resign as a result of his chronic illness, ulcerative colitis, which had been worsening.

His was the longest-running government in history but he is leaving with only one year left in his term. Current Prime Minister Abe surpassed Prime Minister Eisaku Sato for the longest period of time in office, 2,799 days, a record for a government with consecutive terms of office. However, he resigned in 2007 for health reasons during his first term. When Abe came to power again about eight years ago, many people wondered if the same thing would happen again. Unfortunately, with less than a year in this term in office, that is exactly what happened.

The history of his chronic illnesses and conditions.

The ulcerative colitis, which was the reason for his resignation during his previous term, was said to have been a condition for which no new treatments were available but his symptoms had been controlled with drugs. According to a reliable source, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the latest test. He has the same symptoms as his father, former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe. So far, he is presently still in an early stage of cancer.

Abe had planned to continue to be Prime Minister on April 17th, but on April 24th he was told by doctors at Keio University Hospital that they had concerns about his condition. He underwent a tissue examination and cancer was detected. The results of the tests came in the afternoon of March 28th, at which time he decided to resign.

The domestic and international implications of his resignation

The U.S. presidential election and U.S.-China relations are likely to have a major impact due to his resignation. There is also the possibility that talks of joining the Five Eyes may be delayed for a time.

Will Post-Abe change diplomacy in the future?

Whoever comes next will determine how things change, and if it is a continuation of Abe's policies (Taro Kono and Yoshihide Suga), it will likely be at a slower pace than it was under Abe.

Kishida doesn’t have strong leadership within the LDP. If Ishiba becomes a leader, he will change a complete direction to ‘Pro-China.’

Even at his press conference, Abe regretted his failure to address the corona crisis, the Northern Territories issue, the Japan-Russia peace treaty, the abduction issue, and the constitutional revision, but his reputation was firmly high by foreign leaders. It will be interesting to see who could lead Japan the right way.