Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks at a news conference on May 25, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.
Kim Kyung-Hoon – Pool | Getty Images
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has confirmed that he will step down due to worsening health, bringing an early end to his stint as the longest-serving premier of the world’s third-largest economy.
Abe, who suffers from a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, told reporters during a televised press conference that his health started declining around the middle of last month. He confirmed his resignation saying he did not want his illness to result in any policy mistakes.
“I needed to fight against the disease and be treated and I was not really in a perfect state in terms of the health condition,” Abe said Friday, according to a translation.
“I would like to send my apologies to the people of Japan,” he added.
Abe said he would fulfill his duties as prime minister until the next leader is appointed. His current term was not due to end until 2021.
He confirmed his intention to leave office after state broadcaster NHK reported that he was about to stand down earlier in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 1.4% lower on Friday following the news, while the yen strengthened against the dollar, trading at 105.8.
Abe had previously resigned as prime minister in 2007 following a flare-up of his condition but returned to the top job after his party registered a landslide election victory in 2012.
Since resuming the office of prime minister, Abe has sought to revive Japan’s lackluster economy through a policy package dubbed Abenomics. Abe said Friday that the economic policy had succeeded in boosting jobs, and brought an end to 20 years of deflation.
While the coronavirus pandemic has hammered economies globally, Japan was already reeling from a drop in consumer spending after it hiked the consumption tax rate in October. The country entered a technical recession after its economy shrank at an annualized rate of 3.4% in the January to March quarter.
Japan’s economy contracted at an annualized rate of 27.8% in the April to June quarter, marking its third quarter of declines. Reuters reported that plunge wiped out gains from Abenomics stimulus policies.
