"Health Concerns" Abe... Voices in Japan's LDP Call for "Need for Response if Resignation Occurs"

Chronic Ulcerative Colitis Patient
Resigned About a Year After Becoming Prime Minister Due to Worsening Condition in 2007

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a speech at the "National Memorial Service for War Dead" commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War (defeat) held on the 15th (local time) at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been engulfed in health rumors after undergoing additional tests just two months after a detailed health checkup. Some quarters of the Japanese political sphere are voicing the need to consider the possibility of Prime Minister Abe's resignation.

According to reports from local Japanese media, Prime Minister Abe underwent a health checkup on the 17th (local time) at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo. The health checkup started at 10:30 a.m. and ended around 6 p.m. Abe stayed at the hospital for a total of 7 hours and 30 minutes. Previously, Abe had also undergone a detailed health checkup in June.

A senior Japanese government official explained in an interview with TV Asahi, "Prime Minister Abe has not been able to rest properly due to continuous responses to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19)," adding that the (health checkup on the 17th) was to thoroughly manage his health during the summer vacation," cautioning against overinterpretation.

However, since he underwent another detailed examination despite having no significant schedule after the detailed health checkup two months ago, concerns are emerging in the Japanese political circles that "there might be a problem with Prime Minister Abe's personal health."

The Japanese weekly magazine Flash, released on the 4th, also reported, "There is a rumor circulating in political circles that 'Prime Minister Abe coughed up blood in his office on the 6th of last month.'"

Given the situation, voices have emerged within Japan's ruling party suggesting the need to consider the possibility of Prime Minister Abe's resignation.

According to the Sankei Shimbun on the 18th, a veteran member of the Liberal Democratic Party said, "When former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi collapsed, Yoshir? Mori was chosen as his successor," adding, "Isn't someone trying to take advantage of the political situation like back then?"

Kyodo News reported that a member of the LDP said on the same day, "It is necessary to prepare while keeping the possibility of the prime minister's resignation in view."

This is not the first time Prime Minister Abe has been surrounded by health rumors. During his first term in office in September 2007, his chronic illness, ulcerative colitis, worsened. At that time, he resigned due to health issues just over a year after becoming prime minister.

In a memoir contributed to the Japanese publisher Bungeishunju in 2008, one year after his resignation, Abe confessed, "During my resignation announcement speech, my condition worsened, causing me to skip three lines of the speech manuscript, and I had no choice but to admit that it was impossible to continue performing the duties of prime minister like this," adding, "This was one of the decisive factors for my resignation."

However, since his return to power in 2012, he has said that his health has improved thanks to new medication.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.