Netanyahu expresses appreciation for friendship of departing Japanese PM
Abe's resignation will trigger a leadership race in the LDP, the winner of which must be formally elected in parliament.
By LAHAV HARKOV, REUTERSJapan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offers a silent prayer for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, August 6, 2020, on the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city, August 6, 2020(photo credit: KYODO/VIA REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe a message of support on Friday, after the latter resigned due to poor health.“I was saddened to hear about [Abe’s] illness,” Netanyahu said.Netanyahu expressed his “appreciation for the friendship formed between our countries, during which Japanese investments multiplied tenfold many times. Cooperation between the countries flourished in many areas.”The prime minister wished Abe health and success.Abe’s announcement ended his tenure as the country’s longest-serving prime minister in which he sought to revive an economy stricken by deflation and push for a stronger military.His abrupt departure triggers a leadership battle in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over the next few weeks. The winner will likely stick to Abe’s reflationary “Abenomics” policies that had mixed results in resuscitating the world’s third-largest economy.Abe has battled ulcerative colitis for years, and two recent hospital visits within a week had raised questions about whether he could stay on until his term ends in September next year.Despite the deepening concerns about his health, news of Abe’s resignation sent tremors through Tokyo financial markets. Japan’s main stock market, which has more than doubled under Abe, fell some 2% before recovering, while the yen rose on concerns of a return to deflation.“I cannot continue being prime minister if I do not have the confidence that I can carry out the job entrusted to me by the people,” Abe, 65, told a news conference as he announced his decision.He said he wanted to avoid a political vacuum as Japan copes with the novel coronavirus. It was the second time Abe has resigned as prime minister because of poor health, the first more than a decade ago.“I apologize from the bottom of my heart that despite all of the support from the Japanese people, I am leaving the post with one full year left in my term,” he said.At times during his news conference he choked up and blinked back tears.Apart from inheriting an economy in the throes of its worst downturn since World War II, Abe’s successor will be left to try and ensure next year’s Olympics – already delayed for a year by the COVID-19 pandemic – will go ahead.Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba and former foreign minister Fumio Kishida quickly expressed interest in the top job, media reported. Among others whose names have been floated is Abe’s close aide, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.Abe resigned from his first stint as prime minister in 2007, citing ill-health after a year plagued by scandals in his cabinet and a huge election loss for his ruling party. He had since kept his illness in check with medicine that was not previously available.
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