(International observation) Abe announced his resignation during his tenure, where will he go in the "post-Abe" era?

  China News Service, Tokyo, August 28 (Reporter Lu Shaowei Diao Haiyang) On the afternoon of August 28 local time, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a press conference at the Prime Minister's residence and announced that he had decided to resign as prime minister due to his health.

  Abe said that the recurrence of chronic ulcerative colitis, the current physical condition may be a burden to the people, so it is not suitable to continue to serve as prime minister. This is the second time Abe has resigned as prime minister due to health problems. In September 2007, Abe, who had recently taken office, also suddenly announced his resignation due to ulcerative colitis.

  As of November 20, 2019, Abe's cumulative number of days in power reached 2,887 days, surpassing the 2,886 days of Katsaro at the beginning of the 20th century, making him the prime minister with the longest ruling time in Japan's constitutional history. As of August 24, 2020, Abe has been in power for 2,799 consecutive days, surpassing the 2,798 days of former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, setting a record and becoming the prime minister of Japan with the longest consecutive rule.

  Japan’s Kyodo News reported that as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party, Abe has won six consecutive national elections from the 2012 House of Representatives election to the 2019 Senate election. Among them, factors such as the split of the opposition party also made Abe from the side.

  Fan Xiaoju, director of the Northeast Asia Research Institute of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency that compared with previous prime ministers, the most significant change that Abe has brought to Japan is that Japanese politics has finally achieved "long-term stability." ". Before he became prime minister for the second time, Japan's political situation basically changed to another prime minister every other year, and the political situation was very unstable. Correspondingly, policies have fluctuated in succession.

  Fan Xiaoju said that since Abe came to power, the economic policies of the Abe administration have had a relatively strong continuity, and "Abenomics" has also achieved some goals, which is an important factor supporting his long-term governance. In addition, measures such as lifting the ban on collective self-defense have had a profound impact on Japan's diplomacy and security.

  Many Japanese media have called Japan's political structure "Abe one strong." This can also be seen from the side that Abe has a huge influence in Japanese politics. From the moment Abe announced his decision to resign, the election of the president of the later Liberal Democratic Party officially opened. Fan Xiaoju believes that within the Liberal Democratic Party, the "one strong" situation formed during Abe's administration may be difficult to maintain in the future, and a "multiple strong" situation may emerge. There may be some factional fights during the brewing of successor candidates.

  According to Japanese media reports, the current more competitive candidates include former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shige Shigeru, Liberal Democratic Party political investigation chairperson Kishida Fumio, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, and Minister of Defense Taro Kono. Abe's sudden resignation may trigger a "white-hot" fight among the various factions of the Liberal Democratic Party, and it will also bring many disturbances to the Japanese political arena.

  In addition, Abe has worked hard on economics and diplomacy during his tenure. Abe became prime minister for the second time since 2012. He has launched a series of economic stimulus policies called "Abenomics", which contains three pillars, namely, bold financial policy, flexible fiscal policy and growth strategy. . After adjustment, the performance of Japanese companies has recovered, employment conditions have improved, and the stock market has improved. However, affected by the new crown epidemic, Japan’s economy fell by 7.8% month-on-month in the second quarter of 2020 and 27.8% year-on-year, setting a record for the largest decline since World War II.

  Liu Di, a professor at Kyrgyzstan University in Japan, told a reporter from China News Agency that during his long-term administration, Abe was determined to promote "Abenomics" and contributed to the stability and growth of the Japanese economy. (Finish)