Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns, longest in office

- paved the way for succession

Tokyo Wednesday, September 16, 2020

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned this morning. He was the Prime Minister of Japan for the longest time.

Shinzo Abe announced last month that he would resign because of a health problem. On Monday, Yoshihidi Suga, leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected the party's new leader. It was decided that Yoshihide Suga would be the new Prime Minister of Japan.

Suga is considered Abe's closest leader and has been a staunch supporter of Abe since 2006. Suga received 377 votes in the election to elect Abe's successor, while the other two candidates received a total of 157 votes.

"I will pursue Abe's policies," Suga said in his first speech after his election was announced. However, my priority right now is to fight the Corona and improve the economy in the wake of the global epidemic.