September 12, 2007

Japanese PM announces resignation

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday announced his resignation after just a year in office following a series of scandals involving his cabinet and a major election drubbing.

"I have decided to step down from the prime minister's position," Abe told a press conference.

Abe, Japan's first premier born after World War II, and at 52 the youngest in modern times, took office last year with pledges to end legacies of defeat, including by rewriting the US-imposed pacifist constitution.

But his approval ratings nosedived amid public perceptions he lacked authority following a raft of scandals, including massive mismanagement of the pension system -- a sensitive issue in a rapidly ageing country.

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