International

Japan's Premier Hospitalized for Stress

Published September 13, 2007 at 5:33 AM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference at his official residence on Wednesday.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was hospitalized for "extreme exhaustion" Thursday, a day after announcing he would step down.

Abe, 52, was to remain hospitalized for at least three or four days, his doctors said, leaving the care of his scandal-scarred government with his top deputy, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru Yosano.

"He is suffering from extreme exhaustion," said Dr. Toshifumi Hibi at Keio University Hospital. "He has lost weight. Symptoms include abdominal pain, digestion problems and lack of appetite."

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Abe surprised members of his party, and even his own Cabinet, on Wednesday by deciding to resign only days after he pledged to stake his government on the success of legislation to extend a naval mission providing fuel for coalition warships in the Indian Ocean.

The nationalist Abe, whose government was severely damaged by a string of scandals and his party's loss of control of the upper house of parliament in July elections, said someone more politically viable should shepherd the Afghan measure that the opposition is trying to scuttle.

Yosano had said medical problems contributed to Abe's decision. Abe had been receiving regular checkups from his personal doctor since returning from a regional summit in Australia earlier this week, Yosano said.

Abe's resignation, meanwhile, left the troubled ruling Liberal Democratic Party scrambling for a replacement amid growing calls for a general election to give voters a role in choosing the new government.

The LDP said it would hold its election for party president on Sept. 23. The winner is assured of being elected prime minister by parliament because of the LDP majority in the lower house.

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By Thursday evening, Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga had declared he would run. National broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency also reported that former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda — a senior LDP official — intended to run. Fukuda's office refused to confirm the report.

The front-runner to replace Abe, former foreign minister and fellow conservative Taro Aso, was expected to announce his candidacy later Thursday.

Abe's popular predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, reportedly refused supporters' plea to join the race. But Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, who served as defense minister under Koizumi, said he wanted to run.

From NPR reports and The Associated Press