Last evening I was astonished by the breaking news that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would make an announcement about his resignation.
I watched the entire press conference from five to six p.m. On August 24 he decided to step down due to a recurrence of his chronic ulcerative colitis illness, he said. It was the same reason why he left office during his first term as the premier back in 2007. This time, he looked not so bad.
Chanel Sakura, a conservative online TV program, aired a special round table from midnight. One panelist contended that PM Abe would be the only leader who can deal with difficult countries such as China. Mr. Abe would come back and become the prime minister again at an appropriate time, he hoped. That is not prohibited under Japanese law.
Interestingly, PM Abe seems to have made room for that possibility. Unlike his predecessor PM Junichiro Koizumi, he avoided naming a potential successor. PM Abe will resign for the same reason as before; however, he took back the position again in 2012.
At that time, he replaced the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) head and PM Yoshihiko Noda. Because the DPJ had been heavily criticized for its clumsy handling of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, it faced utter defeat in the general election.
If Mr. Abe's successor cannot take control of the COVID-19 situation, the U.S.-China confrontation or DPRK aggression, a better leader would be needed. Given that Japan had suffered from a shortage of sustainable prime ministers before PM Abe's second term, he might have a good chance of returning to the stage.
Some of the achievements of PM Abe which I appreciate are employment reform and a society where women are able to flourish. In retrospect, it might have been his weakest point -- his illness -- that made these accomplishments possible. Because he had to carry out the demanding job of prime minister while controlling his chronic illness, he needed to find ways to be efficient. Out of this experience, he would have become compassionate with professionals from all walks of life, including working women.
Despite a few scandals, overall he has been a decent leader in my view. I hope he will have a chance to resume his unfinished business.
