On the 28th of August, Friday, PM of Japan Shinzo Abe has intended to step down as a result of his medical problems, as the state-media reported.
As per a report in NHK, Japan’s national telecaster, Abe, 65, is booked to hold a news meeting at 5 p.m. to give further details of his choice.
The news comes after the stories of the premier’s worsening health were magnified by his two visits to the Keio University Hospital in Tokyo within seven days.
Abe was first admitted to a hospital on the 17th of August for what was explained as a “health check-up” at the time that lasted for more than seven hours.
As Xinhua news agency reported, on Monday, Abe returned to the clinic to get the results of the check-up and went through more tests, which lasted for four hours.
Additionally, on that day he became Japan’s longest-serving leader with the most sequential days in the office at 2,799.
If affirmed, this will be the second time that the Prime Minister, Abe, will step down from his post due to a medical problem.
NHK reported that, after only working for a year in the office, he retired in 2007 because of inflammatory bowel disease.
He came back to the top position in 2012 following a landslide election win in the Lower House.
Before his health condition, Abe was set to serve one more year in the office.
The Japan Times said in a report that, with the premier set to leave, the race to find his substitution is escalating.
On Friday, before updates on PM of Japan Abe’s retirement broke, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai disclosed to a TV program that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is a solid contender to succeed Abe.
“He has great capabilities,” told Nikai, “He has the ability to endure in the post,” he added.
Nikai additionally said that LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida and once LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba are likely contenders for that spot.
A survey was conducted over the weekend in Kyodo and the results concluded that 23.3 percent said Ishiba should be the next Prime Minister while on the other hand 11 percent said that Abe should continue serving as a Prime Minister. With other competitors such as Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi got 8.4 percent, Defence Minister Taro Kono was at 7.9 percent and lastly, Kishida secured 2.8 percent.
