Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the nation's longest serving prime minister, has announced his resignation for health reasons, saying that he did not want his illness to get in the way of decision making. The 65 year-old has suffered since his teenage years from an inflammatory bowel disease known as ulcerative colitis, though he recently said that his condition had made a resurgence and worsened in mid-July. In 2007, he also resigned abruptly from an earlier term as prime minister because of ulcerative colitis. His current position in office began in 2012.

Prime Minister Abe apologized to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office, and said that he will remain in his post until a successor is selected. His resignation has automatically trigger a vote within his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to replace him as leader. The LDP will be deciding how and when to hold an election next Tuesday.

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