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TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was
preparing Tuesday for a sixth night in hospital amid reports he is
unlikely to be discharged before next week.
Abe checked into hospital last
Thursday with gastrointestinal problems caused by extreme fatigue
and stress, a day after he abruptly announced his resignation.
Abe’s doctor had initially said
he needed to stay in hospital for three or four days, so he had been
expected to return to work after a long holiday weekend. But the
premier remained hospitalized on Tuesday.
“Of course, we hope he will be
discharged as soon as possible. But doctors make the final judgment
and we are just following that,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Kaoru
Yosano, the government spokesman, told reporters.
Officials at the Prime
Minister’s office said it was unclear when the Prime Minister
would be discharged.
Newspapers reported Abe would
remain hospitalized for the whole week.
Majority back Fukuda as next
PM
TOKYO: A majority of people
support Japan’s ruling party veteran Yasuo Fukuda to be the
nation’s next prime minister, a poll showed on Tuesday.
Fukuda, 71, is running against
former foreign minister Taro Aso, 66, in next Sunday’s election
for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s presidency vacated by
Shinzo Abe.
A poll conducted by the Sankei
Shimbun and Fuji Television showed 56 percent of people backed
Fukuda while 28 percent supported Aso, with 16 percent giving no
reply.
The survey was conducted on
Saturday and Sunday covering 1,000 people aged 20 or older.
The LDP presidency is customarily
twinned with the country’s premiership due to the party’s
dominance in the key lower house of parliament.
Abe resigned as prime minister
after only a year in office hit by scandals involving his cabinet
ministers and sagging popularity.
The 387 parliament members and
141 representatives from regional chapters will be eligible to vote
in the party leadership election.
--AFP
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