Japanese right-wing Prime Minister Abe, buh bye?

This 28 August 2020 Singapore TV video says about itself:

Japan PM Shinzo Abe to resign due to health concerns: National broadcaster NHK

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to resign due to health concerns ahead of his tenure ending next September, according to public broadcaster NHK on Friday (Aug 28). CNA’s Michiyo Ishida gives more details on Mr Abe’s health condition, and who are the possible successors if he does step down. Read here.

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will resign, Japanese media report. The right-wing conservative government leader will give a press conference this morning (Dutch time) in which he presumably will announce that he is not serving his term.

According to Japanese media, Abe is quitting for health reasons. He is struggling with chronic intestinal inflammation and had to go to a hospital for the second time in a short time on Tuesday.

His term of office would expire in September next year. Abe, 65, has been Japan’s head of government since 2012 and the longest-serving prime minister in the country. He also became prime minister in 2006, but then he retired after a year …

Invisible

Little is left of the support for the once-popular Japanese prime minister, says correspondent Kjeld Duits to the NOS Radio 1 News. “Abe’s popularity has collapsed recently. People are especially very unhappy with his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Abe was virtually invisible in the big second coronavirus wave we had in Japan in recent months.”

The prime minister has also been criticized for his economic policies. “Abe had a very aggressive monetary policy, … but little of his economic reforms has come to fruition. He said repeatedly that he wanted to empower women, but that has not been successful,” says Duits.

Abe’s main empowerment of women was making female fans of Adolf Hitler ministers.

“It was Abe’s big dream to remove pacifism from the Japanese constitution, but there was a lot of resistance, also within his own party.” The adjustment would also allow Japan to deploy the armed forces if, eg, an ally is attacked.

Meaning the USA of Abe’s buddy Donald Trump; if Trump’s Pentagon would claim there was an ‘attack’ like the lies-based Gulf of Tonkin incident.

Power struggle

Abe is expected to remain PM officially until his Liberal Democratic Party has elected a new leader. “This will be a power struggle within the party,” said Duits. “In recent weeks, rumors have also been growing that there is a chance of early elections. With that in mind, two major opposition parties recently merged. It is difficult to predict who will eventually become the new prime minister.”