Tokyo stocks plunge over 2% as reports suggest Japanese PM Shinzo Abe set to resign

Tokyo stocks tumbled over two per cent on August 28 after reports suggested that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to announce his resignation amid worsening health condition. The Nikkei, a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, dropped 2.10 per cent after public broadcaster NHK and local media reported that Abe has expressed his intention to step down, citing his health condition.

The reports emerged hours before a scheduled press conference where he is likely to explain the reasons behind his decision to quit. Japan’s longest-serving prime minister made two separate trips to a hospital recently for health checkups due to a medical condition that have not yet been specified by the PMO.

Abe told a press briefing on August 25 that the achievement while holding a political office is more important than how much spent there. He said that the government devoted every day during the seven years and eight months to implement the policies that the party had promised to the people and to deliver results.

“Thanks to the accumulation of daily efforts, I believe we are able to welcome this day. We owe everything to the strong support at national elections we have received from the people,” he said.

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Health condition amid pandemic response

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, at a regular news conference, had brushed off worries about Abe's health. “I see him every day, but I haven't noticed anything different," he said. Suga said the Prime Minister is undergoing additional health exams to make sure he will be able to serve another year until his current term ends in September 2021.

Japan was successful in containing the coronavirus during the first wave but started witnessing an exponential rise since last week of June. The daily coronavirus cases are on a decline but the country has been reporting deaths in double-digits for three consecutive days. Japan has reported over 64,000 total cases of COVID-19 and more than 1,200 related deaths so far.

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