The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, has resigned on the grounds of a longtime illness. A painful intestinal condition, which he has had since he was a teenager, has resurfaced, forcing the leader to relinquich his political office. The 65-year-old former Prime Minister was Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, holding the position from 2012 till 2020.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the people of Japan for leaving my post with one year left in my term of office, and amid the coronavirus woes, while various policies are still in the process of being implemented,” he said in a televised speech.
Japan Under Abe
Mr Abe’s political career started after he was elected to parliament in 1993. In 2005 he became a cabinet member when then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed him as the Chief Cabinet Secretary. He was named prime minister in 2006 but resigned in 2007 due to ulcerative colitis and after his party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), suffered a major loss during elections. He made a return as Prime Minister in 2012 and was re-elected in 2014 and 2017.
Mr Abe was popular for his signature economic strategy known as “Abenomics”, a set of policies he came up with when he came into power in 2012 to jumpstart Japan’s economy after two decades of stagnant growth. This method was popular for utilising the three arrows: Monetary Policy that makes it easy consumers and companies to borrow money and spend, Fiscal Stimulus where governments spend more on infrastructure and gives incentives like tax breaks, and Structural Reforms which include labor liberalization and allowing more migrants work.
Another key area of his economic reforms involved getting more women into the workforce; and the term “womenomics” was used to describe this aspect of his policies. Abe attempted to achieve much more by amending the constitution of Japan, but that did not happen as he hoped.
What’s Next?
It is not clear who the successor will be as Abe did not name anyone. This has caused infighting between various factions of the LDP. Mr Abe will remain in a caretaker position till a successor is chosen by parliament in a majority vote is held, most likely in September. His successor will remain in power till September 2021 when another election is scheduled to hold.
The person who comes after Abe will be tasked with stabilizing the economy in Japan which has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as uniting the LDP.
