Japanese Raised Concerns To Their PM, Shinzo Abe's Health

August 24, 2020

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned Monday to a Tokyo hospital where a week ago he underwent what an aide called "a regular health checkup," the visit coming on the same day he marks a record as Japan's longest-serving prime minister in terms of consecutive days in office.

Abe was taken to Keio University Hospital for a follow-up to his previous visit, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

There has been rising concern about the state of his health amid the coronavirus crisis, after he underwent a more than seven and a half hour medical examination last week.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a regular briefing Abe was receiving "additional testing" after that check-up.

The hospital trip came on the day Abe marked 2,799 uninterrupted days as premier, breaking the previous record held by his great uncle Eisaku Sato.

Speculation about the 65-year-old's health has been swirling since he spent more than seven hours at the hospital on Aug. 17. Questions began being asked about his health after a magazine reported he had vomited blood in July.

Speculation about Abe's health comes as he faces renewed pressure over his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and declining public support. A poll published on Sunday by the Kyodo news agency found the approval rating for his cabinet at just 36 percent, the second lowest level since his second term began in 2012.

Abe gets a regular check-up twice a year, with his most recent on June 13, the Kyodo news agency said, adding that last week's visit was a follow-up to the June check-up, citing a hospital source.

Sources:

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN25J0V6

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/08/889dbb98f810-abe-sets-record-for-consecutive-days-in-office-eclipsing-sato.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/japan-pm-shinzo-abe-visit-hospital-monday-report-200824001545357.html