Just days after becoming the longest-serving leader of the Japanese government, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced he would be resigning due to his health. “Even though there is one year to go in my tenure and there are challenges to be met, I have decided to stand down as prime minister,” Abe told reporters at a press conference in Tokyo on Friday. The 65-year-old Prime Minister specifically apologized for being unable to fulfill his duties during the coronavirus pandemic as well as failing to achieve certain goals during his tenure, including the release of Japanese prisoners abducted years ago by North Korea and a territorial dispute with Russia.