Japan’s Abe Leaves Hospital as Minister Denies Health Scare
Japan’s Abe Visits Hospital Amid Health Questions, Kyodo Says
(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a Tokyo hospital for several hours on Monday after his avoidance of extended public appearances sparked speculation about the health of the country’s longest-serving premier.
Abe, 65, was seen arriving by car at Keio University Hospital in Tokyo at about 10:30 a.m., in video broadcast by Japanese television networks. At about 6 p.m. Kyodo News reported that he left the hospital. Kyodo cited an aide as saying Abe went for a regular health check and broadcaster TBS said he had undergone a full health examination as recently as June.
The Prime Minister’s Office has not put out an official statement on the matter. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said he was not worried about Abe, telling a news conference Monday the premier was full of physical and mental strength.
But close Abe associate and LDP lawmaker Akira Amari tweeted Monday that he had called on Abe’s secretaries to let the premier rest by cutting back on his appointments. The secretaries responded that Abe himself refused to take time off, Amari said.
Abe hasn’t held a full-length news conference since mid-June, and has rebuffed opposition calls for a new session of parliament to debate policies for controlling the coronavirus and its economic fallout.
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Domestic media have kept a close eye on Abe’s movements, noting that he paid his first visit in months to a gym on Aug. 10. Broadcaster TBS even took to timing his daily walk across the foyer of his residence in a bid to gauge the state of his health.
Abe resigned in 2007 after an abbreviated first term in office, citing a worsening of chronic ulcerative colitis. When he made a comeback in 2012 that started his current run as prime minister, aides said the introduction of a new drug had enabled him to bring the condition under control.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who works closely with Abe on a daily basis, said on Aug. 4 he didn’t believe there was any problem with the premier’s health. Abe’s last major public appearance was on Saturday, where he spoke briefly at an event marking the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War Two.
Abe has had little time away from work as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout Japan, triggering the worst economic contraction on record in the April-June quarter. As virus numbers have increased in recent weeks, Abe’s approval slid to a record low of 35.4% in a poll published by JNN earlier this month.
Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters late Monday that Abe had been working without a break for an extended period.
“No rest for 147 days would normally have an impact on your health,” said Aso, who also serves as deputy prime minister. “Looking after your health is part of anyone’s job.”
The prime minister’s usual August trip to a second home outside the capital may have been called off after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike urged residents to avoid travel so as not to further spread the virus.
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