Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Resigns for Health Reasons
2020-08-29
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1Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, announced Friday he is resigning from office because of a health problem.
2The Japanese leader spoke with reporters about his decision.
3He said, "Faced with the illness and treatment, as well as the pain of lacking physical strength...I decided I should not stay on as prime minister when I'm no longer capable of living up to the people's expectations with confidence."
4Abe has long battled ulcerative colitis, a chronic, or long-lasting, bowel disease.
5This summer, he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for medical exams.
6Abe said he now has a new treatment.
7But there is no guarantee that it will cure his condition, so he decided to resign as prime minister after treatment next Monday.
8"It is gut wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals," Abe said Friday.
9He noted his failure to settle the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and amending Japan's constitution.
10Abe's resignation marks the end of a period of stability in a country famously known for changing prime ministers.
11During his years in office, Abe pulled Japan out of an economic recession, although the coronavirus crisis has weakened the economy.
12He built up strong ties with the United States and President Donald Trump,
13but Abe's support of nationalist policies unsettled China, as well as North and South Korea.
14His goal of rewriting the U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution failed because of poor public support.
15Although Abe is leaving office with some of his political goals unfinished, he continued to expand Japan's defense capability to react to the needs of the United States.
16"For those who believe the Japan-U.S. alliance is paramount, that was his major achievement," said Koichi Nakano, an international politics professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.
17Abe is expected to stay on until a new party leader is elected and approved by the parliament.
18Shinzo Abe is from a family long active in politics.
19His grandfather was former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
20Abe became Japan's youngest prime minister in 2006, at age 52.
21The term ended a year later because of his health.
22He returned to power in December 2012. In all, he won six straight national elections.
23This coming Monday, Abe will become Japan's longest-serving prime minister, in terms of consecutive days in office.
24He will break the record of Eisaku Sato, his great-uncle, who served 2,798 consecutive days as prime minster from 1964 to 1972.
25After his recent hospital visits were reported, top officials from Abe's Cabinet and the ruling party said he was overworked and badly needed rest.
26There are several politicians interested in becoming prime minister.
27They include Shigeru Ishiba, a 63-year-old former defense minister, former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, Defense Minister Taro Kono, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, and economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.
28Abe said he will focus on his treatment for now and "continue his political activity and support a new administration as a lawmaker."
29I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, announced Friday he is resigning from office because of a health problem. 2The Japanese leader spoke with reporters about his decision. He said, "Faced with the illness and treatment, as well as the pain of lacking physical strength...I decided I should not stay on as prime minister when I'm no longer capable of living up to the people's expectations with confidence." 3Abe has long battled ulcerative colitis, a chronic, or long-lasting, bowel disease. This summer, he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for medical exams. Abe said he now has a new treatment. But there is no guarantee that it will cure his condition, so he decided to resign as prime minister after treatment next Monday. 4"It is gut wrenching to have to leave my job before accomplishing my goals," Abe said Friday. He noted his failure to settle the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea, a territorial dispute with Russia, and amending Japan's constitution. 5Abe's resignation marks the end of a period of stability in a country famously known for changing prime ministers. 6During his years in office, Abe pulled Japan out of an economic recession, although the coronavirus crisis has weakened the economy. He built up strong ties with the United States and President Donald Trump, but Abe's support of nationalist policies unsettled China, as well as North and South Korea. His goal of rewriting the U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution failed because of poor public support. 7Although Abe is leaving office with some of his political goals unfinished, he continued to expand Japan's defense capability to react to the needs of the United States. 8"For those who believe the Japan-U.S. alliance is paramount, that was his major achievement," said Koichi Nakano, an international politics professor at Sophia University in Tokyo. 9Abe is expected to stay on until a new party leader is elected and approved by the parliament. 10Shinzo Abe is from a family long active in politics. His grandfather was former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. 11Abe became Japan's youngest prime minister in 2006, at age 52. The term ended a year later because of his health. He returned to power in December 2012. In all, he won six straight national elections. 12This coming Monday, Abe will become Japan's longest-serving prime minister, in terms of consecutive days in office. He will break the record of Eisaku Sato, his great-uncle, who served 2,798 consecutive days as prime minster from 1964 to 1972. 13After his recent hospital visits were reported, top officials from Abe's Cabinet and the ruling party said he was overworked and badly needed rest. 14There are several politicians interested in becoming prime minister. They include Shigeru Ishiba, a 63-year-old former defense minister, former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, Defense Minister Taro Kono, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, and economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura. 15Abe said he will focus on his treatment for now and "continue his political activity and support a new administration as a lawmaker." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20capable - adj. able to do something 21confidence - n. a feeling or belief that someone has the ability to succeed 22bowel - n. the long tube in the body that helps digest food and carries waste out of the body 23in a row - phrase, in succession 24gut wrenching - adj. causing great mental or emotional pain 25stability - n. the quality of being stable, not changed easily 26paramount - adj. very important 27achievement - n. something that has been done through strong effort or hard work 28great-uncle - n. an uncle of one's father or mother 29focus - v. to direct attention at something specific