A day after abruptly announcing his resignation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was hospitalized with gastrointestinal problems Thursday morning, and the governing Liberal Democratic Party pushed back the date to choose his successor.
Abe is expected to stay in the hospital at least three days because he is suffering from digestive problems and a lack of appetite brought on by fatigue and stress, according to his doctor at Keio University Hospital here. Party officials had cited Abe’s poor health as one reason behind his resignation.
Worsening the political vacuum, party officials announced they would hold an election to choose a new leader Sept. 23, not Sept. 19, as they had said Wednesday.
Apparently worried about giving the impression that the next prime minister would emerge from backroom deals, the officials said the extra time would allow more candidates to campaign before the public.
The finance minister, Fukushiro Nukaga declared his intention to run in the party election. Taro Aso, the party’s secretary general, and Yasuo Fukuda, a former chief Cabinet secretary, are also considered strong candidates.
The disarray inside the LDP and recent gains by the main opposition Democratic Party will almost certainly interrupt, and perhaps end, the Japanese navy’s six-year role supporting the war in Afghanistan.
In announcing his resignation, Abe said a more popular successor would be better able to extend the navy’s mission past its scheduled expiration Nov.1.
But because of the resignation, and with time needed to select a new prime minister and form a new Cabinet, the governing party will be unable to overcome opposition objections before the expiration, said Gen Nakatani, a member of Abe’s party who was defense minister when the law was first passed in 2001.
Urged by the United States to shoulder greater military responsibilities, Japan has passed laws since 2001 to circumvent its pacifist constitution and allow it to assist in the American-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Bush and other U.S. officials have pressed Japan to extend its mission in the Indian Ocean, where its ships have been refueling American and other vessels taking part in the war in Afghanistan.
Debate over the law allowing that mission is expected to lead to a larger discussion about Japan’s security alliance with the United States and the increasingly assertive military.