Japanese react to resignation of Shinzo Abe

Japan's longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said on Friday he is stepping down because a chronic health problem has resurfaced.

Abe has had ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager and has said the condition was controlled with treatment.

In Tokyo's bustling Shimbashi Station, commuters expressed mixed feelings regarding Abe's departure.

29 year-old office employee, Ayako Sekiya, said she wished Abe could stay longer to maintain the country's recent stability.

In a country once known for its short-tenured prime ministers, the departure marks the end of an unusual era of stability that saw the Japanese leader strike up strong ties with US President Donald Trump even as Abe's ultra-nationalism riled the Koreas and China.

While he pulled Japan out of recession, the economy has been battered anew by the coronavirus pandemic, and Abe has failed to achieve his cherished goal of formally rewriting the US-drafted pacifist constitution because of poor public support.

"Now in this kind of situation, I hope that someone who can think and act properly about COVID-19 countermeasure in the future ahead will be the prime minister," said Masaya Takahashi, 30 year-old office worker.

His health concerns came as his support ratings plunged due to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its severe impact on the economy, on top of a stream of political scandals, including his own.