Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially resigns

Prime Minister of JapanShinzo Abe has mentioned that he has ulcerative colitis. However, 14 years ago, when he became Prime Minister of Japan at the age of 52, Mr. Abe was also diagnosed with the disease. He was in office for only 366 days. However, this relapse seems to be more serious.

Since taking office, Prime Minister Abe has been prominent with the Abenomics policy with the aim of restoring Japan's economy, including increasing the consumption tax from 5% to 10%.

In diplomacy, Mr. Abe is known as a proactive and determined person who promotes multi-faceted cooperation with important partners, especially deepening the alliance with the United States. He also pursues amending the Japanese Constitution, despite facing opposition from domestic public opinion.

Potential replacements for Mr Abe are said to include Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Policy Research Committee Chairman Fumio Kishida, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

According to a Kyodo poll in late July, the Japanese cabinet's approval rating fell to 36%, and 59.1% of respondents were dissatisfied with its anti-epidemic measures. It is known that the cabinet's approval rating when Mr. Abe returned to power in 2012 was up to 62%.

A series of Japanese leaders have made statements about Prime Minister Abe's resignation.

The Japanese Foreign Minister said that this was a very regrettable thing. During the 7 years and 8 months that Mr. Abe was in office, as Prime Minister, he made many contributions to strengthening diplomatic activities, especially strengthening the Japan-US alliance. He also contributed a lot to the recovery of the Japanese economy. Therefore, how to inherit Mr. Abe's achievements and thinking is something that many people desire.

The Japanese Minister of Culture, Education, Science and Technology said that Mr. Abe's resignation was a great pity. Mr. Abe is still young, so we hope he can take care of his health and lead the next generation.

The country's Minister of Information was extremely surprised, because recently, in the conference on Covid-19 prevention and control, Mr. Abe was still healthy, so this official could not have thought that Mr. Abe resigned.

Meanwhile, Japan's economic recovery minister said it was "completely unthinkable" that Mr. Abe would resign, because these days, Mr. Abe is still working and directing measures to prevent and combat the epidemic.

A representative of the Komei Party said that Mr. Abe has been doing his best for the government recently. Hopefully, in the near future, Mr. Abe's health can recover.