Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held his last cabinet meeting on Wednesday (September 16, 2020) and announced the resignation of his entire cabinet, paving the way for the formation of a new cabinet by the new prime minister.
Abe’s sudden announcement of his resignation last month, citing health reasons, shocked the Japanese political world. His chief cabinet secretary, 71-year-old Yoshihide Suga, won a landslide victory in the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Monday and will be formally confirmed as Japan’s 99th prime minister by the Diet at its Wednesday interim session.
In a speech to the Japanese people, Abe, who has been in office for nearly eight years, thanked the people for their support, regretted that he could not stay on to solve many problems, and called for understanding and support for the new cabinet.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking with Abe after his resignation announcement, praised Abe as the greatest prime minister in Japan’s history and for his outstanding contribution to the current best U.S.-Japan relationship.
Observers say Kan will face major challenges as prime minister, including the neo-coronavirus epidemic, the Tokyo Olympics, and Japan-China relations, as well as Japan’s long-standing problems of economic recovery, increasing aging, and low fertility rates.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono tweeted a photo of his last day in office at the Ministry of Defense on Wednesday. He described the perilous security environment Japan faces in a video appearance last week at a symposium hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS, a Washington think tank. He said Japan is prepared to defend “every centimeter” of the Senkaku Islands and believes the United States is willing to fight to defend the islands.
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