日 아베 총리 전격 퇴진...포스트 아베 한일 관계는?
Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, just hours ago, announced his resignation for health reasons.
He said he did not want his illness to get in the way of decision making, and apologized to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office.
Our Hong Yoo is live on the line.
Yoo, there had been speculation about Abe's health since he twice went to the hospital in the last two weeks.
Yes Connyoung, Prime Minister Abe said that ulcerative colitis, which he's had since he was 16 years old, has gotten worse... to the point that he cannot perform his role.
This same illness also caused Abe to resign once before in a previous term back in 2007.
His resignation comes 7 years and 8 months since he was inaugurated most recently.
To replace him, a leadership race in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is most likely to begin in two or three weeks.
The party's new leader will fill in as Prime Minister for the rest of Abe's term, which ends in September 2021.
But whoever that is, he or she will have to deal with the surging COVID-19 outbreak in Japan and the country's biggest economic slump on record.
What happens now? Who are some of his likely successors and how might they affect relations with South Korea?
Connyoung, Abe was a leader whose diplomacy clashed sharply with South Korea's.
Last year in particular, Abe imposed export restrictions on South Korea in retaliation for a South Korean court ruling that ordered Japanese firms to pay compensation to Korean people subjected to wartime forced labor.
Experts say that relations between the two countries during Abe's administration have been the worst since South Korea's liberation.
But it is highly unlikely that Abe's resignation will fundamentally improve those ties.
One possible successor is Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
In the party, he's been a loyal member of Team Abe since Abe's first term, and helped him run again for the top post in 2012.
He's not believed to be interested in improving bilateral relations.
And another potential successor is Defense Minister Taro Kono.
Prior to serving as defense minister, he served in other key posts such as foreign minister and minister for administrative reform.
But like Abe, he takes a strongly conservative view of the row with South Korea over wartime history.
In Seoul, a spokesperson for the Blue House said Friday that the Moon administration hopes Abe recovers from his condition soon and that South Korea and the next prime minister can work together to promote bilateral cooperation.
Back to you, Connyoung.
