html On August 28, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he would resign as Prime Minister, the Prime Minister. Abe: Since I need treatment for my illness and am in severe physical condition, I am not allowed to make any mistakes when making important political decisions. Since I am unable to perform my duties and can no longer respond confidently to the requests of the people, I Having decided not to continue to serve as Prime Minister, I will resign as Prime Minister.
html On August 17, Shinzo Abe went to Keio University Hospital to receive an "additional examination" for a regular physical examination, and left after about 7 hours. Just a week later, on August 24, the day Abe set a record for the number of consecutive days in office as a Japanese prime minister, Abe went to the hospital for another check-up.
Abe said that according to the doctor's advice, the new intravenous treatment will be carried out on August 31. Although there may be improvement, the effect cannot be guaranteed, so he decided to "step back" and receive treatment.
Japanese people : I am surprised! He looked tired, but I didn't expect him to quit. I hope he works harder and remains Prime Minister for a while longer.
In September 2006, Abe became prime minister for the first time, becoming the first Japanese prime minister born after World War II and the youngest post-war Japanese prime minister. But a year later, in September 2007, Abe suddenly resigned as prime minister due to health reasons.
In 2012, Shinzo Abe accepted an exclusive interview with "The Plaza of the Digestive System", a journal of the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.
claims to have found an effective way to control his condition. Leave the impression of "actively defeating the disease" to the public.
At that time, Japan was facing an economic downturn after the earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, and the people were eager for a leader who could change their luck and bring about miracles to get out of the predicament.
In September 2012, Abe "made a comeback" and became the president of the then opposition Liberal Democratic Party. In the House of Representatives election in December of that year, he led the Liberal Democratic Party to defeat the ruling Democratic Party and became prime minister.
Subsequently, the Abe cabinet broke the previous "revolving door" situation in Japanese politics where the government changed every year. While creating a long-term record of governance, the Japanese political economy was able to proceed smoothly.
Japanese people : He is working hard to deal with the new crown pneumonia epidemic, but he seems to be exhausted recently. I'm worried, unfortunately!
According to reports from Japan's Fuji TV, after the outbreak of the epidemic in Japan, Abe worked continuously for more than 140 days and even vomited blood.
On August 4 this year, Japan's "Flash Weekly" also quoted government insiders as saying that Abe "vomited blood" in the office of the Prime Minister's residence on July 6.
It is not uncommon in history for political figures to experience deterioration in their health when faced with pressure, thus affecting their decision-making.
The presidential medical report collected by the Kennedy Library of the United States shows that in 1962, when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, then-U.S. President Kennedy was deeply troubled by "spastic colitis," but Kennedy concealed his condition.
In April 1919, Grayson, then US President Wilson's personal physician, wrote, "The president suddenly caught a bad cold, and the entire human civilization was at a critical moment."
At that time, the Paris Peace Conference was being held, and it was also the time of the Spanish Flu pandemic. At that time, Wilson's condition was deliberately concealed.
In October 1919, Wilson also suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on the left side and blind in his left eye.
Prime Minister Abe’s sudden resignation will not only affect Japan’s domestic politics, but may also affect the smooth hosting of next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was once regarded as the "fourth arrow" to boost Japan's economy. According to the original plan, if Abe can attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics as prime minister, he will undoubtedly set a new record.
However, the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic has postponed the Tokyo Olympics to July 23, 2021.
html On August 28, Kyodo News Agency reported that the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee will make every effort to promote the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics and will continue to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee.According to the "Japan Times" report, just before officially announcing his decision to resign, Abe participated in the "New Coronavirus Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting". He emphasized that more active testing measures need to be taken in the months before winter.
Regarding his resignation, Abe said that he felt "extremely painful".
Abe: I sincerely apologize to the people of the country and will resign under the epidemic situation. My biggest regret is that I was not able to solve the issue of the abducted Japanese (left over from history). I had to leave my job before reaching a peace treaty with Russia and completing the constitutional amendment work. This made me very painful!
The New York Times commented that in a country where prime ministers change frequently, the 65-year-old Abe has served as prime minister for nearly eight years, which is an achievement in itself.
However, there are also different opinions in Japan regarding the political legacy left by Abe.
Koichi Nakano, professor of international politics at Sophia University in Tokyo : Although Mr. Abe served as prime minister for 7 years and eight months, he set a record for the longest term of prime minister. But in Japan, many people find it difficult to think of any particularly positive legacy he left behind.
In December 2012, Abe, who became the Prime Minister of Japan for the second time, chanted the slogan "Economy First" and implemented a series of economic stimulus policies, known as "Abenomics".
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: What is "Abenomics"? It is to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of the company and improve its profits.
Reform measures such as the "Three Arrows", the new "Three Arrows", and "Society 5.0" have reduced Japan's unemployment rate and increased residents' income. Although the overall extent is not large, and some measures have been controversial, Changes in economic data helped him win the support of many voters.
However, in the past two or three years, unilateralism and protectionism have risen, globalization has encountered a cold wave, and the Japanese economy, which relies on exports, has been hit.
Since the beginning of this year, the continued spread of the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic has caused Japan's GDP to fall by 7.8% month-on-month in the second quarter, and by 27.8% on an annual basis, setting the worst performance since records began in 1955. This is the third consecutive quarter of negative economic growth in Japan. This result has brought Japan's real GDP to a ten-year low, which is equivalent to zeroing out all the achievements made since the implementation of "Abenomics" by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the end of 2012. .
This is a huge blow to Abe.
In addition to "Abenomics", diplomatic breakthroughs are also an important focus of Abe's efforts. Taking advantage of his long-term rule, Abe tried to implement "diplomacy overlooking the globe."
In September 2015, Abe’s “trot” on a diplomatic occasion reflected Abe’s eagerness to improve Japan-Russia relations.
"Golf diplomacy" reflects Abe's emphasis on maintaining the US-Japan alliance.
In June this year, former U.S. National Security Assistant Bolton wrote in his memoirs that among world leaders, the one with whom Trump has the best personal relationship is Abe.
In mid-2019, many merchant ships were damaged in the Persian Gulf, and the situation in the Middle East was very tense. In June of that year, Abe went to Tehran to meet with Iranian President Rouhani, hoping to become a "middleman" between the United States and Iran. This was also the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to Iran since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Koichi Nakano, professor of international politics at Sophia University in Tokyo : Japan’s relations with other Asian countries will be affected by Abe’s resignation, especially in terms of (leaders’) personal relationships, but the most structural factor and the increasingly important factor is, Whether Mr. Trump will be re-elected as President of the United States.
Documents released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that From January 2013 to January 2020, Abe visited approximately 80 countries and regions, more than all previous Japanese prime ministers.
Japanese analysts believe that from an intra-party political perspective, there has never been an opponent in the Liberal Democratic Party who can challenge Abe.From a domestic political perspective, the opposition parties are generally weak and unable to pose an effective challenge to the Liberal Democratic Party. Coupled with the help of the powerful "foreign aid" Komeito, the Japanese political arena has actually formed a situation of "Abe's dominance", which also provides a basis for Abe's revisionism. Xianmeng provides the basis.
In 2015, taking advantage of the ruling coalition's seat advantage in Congress, the Liberal Democratic Party pushed through a series of controversial new security bills, lifted the ban on the right of collective self-defense, and allowed the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to send troops overseas together with the Allied Forces in the name of "collective self-defense."
Japanese political commentator Naoto Amaki: Sending the Self-Defense Forces to various parts of the world is the main purpose of amending the security law. In this way, the so far exclusive defense policy, in which the Self-Defense Forces only defend when Japan is attacked, will undergo fundamental changes.
This move triggered a strong response in Japanese society. Protesters called the new security bill a "war bill" and the approval rating of Abe's cabinet plummeted.
Japanese people: (Abe) resigns! (Abe) Resign! Repeal the "War Act" immediately! Repeal the "War Act" immediately!
During his second term in power, Abe was also exposed to several corruption scandals.
In June 2016, an educational institution called "Moritomo Gakuen" purchased a piece of state-owned land at an extremely low price. The transaction price was only 14% of the actual valuation of the land. After the incident was exposed, Japanese media questioned the involvement of political forces behind the sale of state-owned land, and Abe and his wife were suspected of being involved.
Moritomo Gakuen Chairman Yasunori Goike: There were only two of us at the time, and she (Akie Abe) said: 'Please accept this from Prime Minister Abe,' and then gave me an envelope with 1 million yen in it. of donations.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Myself, my wife, and my office are not involved in this land deal.
A series of negative events such as the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, the Kaki Gakuen scandal, and the cherry blossom viewing party incident caused a serious drop in the support rate of the Abe regime.
Many Japanese people also believe that Abe's resignation marks the end of a rare era of policy stability, and stability is what Japan needs most at the moment.
html In September, the Liberal Democratic Party will launch a presidential election, and the new president elected will succeed Abe as Japan's new prime minister.According to a poll conducted by Japan Jiji News Agency in early August, the person who ranked first in the support rate for the next prime minister is Shigeru Ishiba, the former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party..
Ishiba Shigeru is 63 years old. His father once served as the governor of Tottori Prefecture, and his mother is a teacher. Compared with political families such as Abe, Aso, and Koizumi in the Liberal Democratic Party, his background is ordinary.
Like Abe, Shigeru Ishiba, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense, is also a constitutional revisionist and advocates that Japan should establish a Maritime Self-Defense Force Marine Corps that can cooperate with the US Marine Corps.
In terms of diplomacy, Shigeru Ishiba is a mixture of soft and hard policies, not pro-American, and expresses doubts about using the Japan-US alliance as the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy.
Shigeru Ishiba twice participated in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012, but failed both times.
htmlOn August 28, he talked about the presidential election on a TV show and said: "There is no option not to run."Taro Aso, 79 years old, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, is also a strong contender for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Analysts believe that if Abe leaves office soon, Aso, who has rich political experience, is likely to be elected as the interim leader before the new party's first choice.
In 2008, Aso took over as Prime Minister of Japan after Abe resigned for the first time. However, he stepped down a year later due to the Liberal Democratic Party's disastrous defeat in the parliamentary election.
Fumio Kishida, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Political Consultative Conference. According to Japan's "Economic News", he is Abe's favorite successor. In January this year, Abe publicly stated that Kishida has made it clear that he will participate in the next Liberal Democratic Party presidential election and looks forward to his actions.
Kishida, 63, served as the Foreign Minister of the Abe government from 2012 to 2017. He is cautious on the issue of constitutional amendment and advocates strengthening the Japan-US alliance. But his approval ratings are low.
html On August 28, the day Abe announced his decision to resign, Fumio Kishida publicly stated that he was ready to run for office.In addition, current Defense Minister Taro Kono, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, etc. are also regarded as strong competitors.
As of August 24, Abe’s total number of days in office after taking office as prime minister again has exceeded the 2,798 days of former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, becoming the longest consecutive serving prime minister in Japan’s history . If his first term in office is included, Abe has become the Japanese Prime Minister with the longest cumulative term in office since November 2019.
And Abe’s resignation will undoubtedly bring a big shock wave to Japan’s political arena, which has become accustomed to the rhythm of the past.
