Japan’s PM Abe ‘is set to resign due to ill health’

Japan‘s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to announce his resignation over health issues, local media claimed today, hours before he was due to address a press conference. 

Speculation about the prime minister’s health has been swirling for weeks but reached fever pitch in recent days after he made two separate trips to hospital for unspecified medical checks.

Even before the recent hospital visits, there had been reports claiming that Abe, 65, was vomiting blood. 

‘Abe intends to resign as his illness has worsened and he worries it will cause trouble’ in leading the country, national broadcaster NHK said. 

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) is on the brink of announcing his resignation over health issues, local media reported today 

There have also been questions over Abe’s limited public appearances and decision to avoid holding a press conference to address criticism of his handling of the coronavirus.

Abe is scheduled to hold a press conference at 5pm on Friday and ‘he is likely to explain reasons’ for his resignation, NHK and other media reported.

Abe took three days of holidays this month and on August 17 made an unannounced hospital visit, staying there for more than seven hours for medical checks.

He made a second visit to the same hospital a week later for additional tests and said at the time that he intended to continue in the job. 

Abe ended his first term as prime minister after just a year in the job from 2006 to 2007, in part due to crippling health problems later diagnosed as ulcerative colitis.