Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, is set to resign due to his worsening health condition, said a report.

PM Abe, who is the longest-serving premier of Japan, is ending a stint at the helm of the world’s third-biggest economy.

A source close to Abe said that the resignation is a done deal.

Japanese media has also reported that Abe had decided to resign.

Shinzo Abe was scheduled to hold a news conference at 5 pm.

Abe has battled the disease ulcerative colitis for years and 2 recent hospitals within just 1 week.

Jiji News Agency said that Abe did not want to cause trouble by resigning suddenly, however, his condition had recurred and was at risk of getting worse.

The resignation of Abe from the office will have a huge impact on a leadership race in the LDP. The winner must be formally elected in the parliament.

The new leader will hold the post for the rest of Abe’s term.

On Monday this week, Abe surpassed a record for the longest consecutive tenure as a premier set by Eisaku Sato, his great-uncle, half a century ago.

It is reported that PM Abe wants to avoid his chronic condition from affecting the management of the government.

PM Abe is currently on fire for his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic and scandals among party members.

Abe has seen his support to fall to one of the lowest levels of his 8 years in office.

Japan does not have that many cases, however, Abe was criticized for a clumsy early response and what critics see as a lack of leadership as infections spread fast.

As the news of PM Abe spread on social media, the benchmark Nikkei average fell 2.12% to 22,717.02, while the broader Topix shed 1.00% to 1,599.70.