Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, paid a planned visit to the clinic in Tokyo on Monday. Shinzo Abe’s aide told reporters the visit was a followup on his regular medical check-up in June, The Japan Times said.
Japan’s PM Abe left Tokyo’s Keio University Hospital hospital after the examination. The 65-year-old head of government had the check-up at, said health minister Katsunobu Kato, a close aide to the first minister. It is pretty logical not to miss such a regular check-up.
“All I know is from media reports. And I understand it was reported as a regular check-up,” Kato said and added there was “not at all” worried about Abe’s health.
The Japanese PM gets a regular check-up twice a year, with his most recent on June 13. His Monday’s visit was mere a follow-up to the June check-up, a hospital source said.
Last week, Akira Amari, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s tax panel, suggested that PM could be suffering from fatigue because of non-stop work. “I want him to take a break,” Amari told a Fuji TV channel on Sunday. “He has a strong sense of responsibility and feels it’s wrong to take a break.”
Shinzo Abe ’s walking speed caused the rumours
PM Abe has discharged regular duties in recent weeks and was last seen in public on Saturday, at a Tokyo ceremony commemorating Japan’s World War Two defeat. However, media have speculated about Abe’s health, including detailed reports on official’s walking speed.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, he looks healthy and is carrying out his duties smoothly. While there are no reports that Shinzo Abe is unable to perform his duties, should that be the case, Deputy PM Taro Aso, who doubles as finance minister, would take over.
