Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has suddenly announced his resignation. It is a “dishonorable resignation,” in that he steps down without having completed a full year in office. “The situation is such that it would be hard to win the people’s support,” he told a press conference. “It would be a dilemma to continue running the government.” He had been resisting calls for him to resign that came after his party’s crushing defeat in July’s House of Councilors (the Diet’s upper house) elections, but he has essentially admitted that it would be hard to hold on any longer in the face of the people’s decision
'아베 노선'의 좌초
아베 신조 일본 총리가 어제 전격적으로 사의를 표명했다. 임기 일년을 채 채우지 못한 ‘불명예 퇴진’이다. 그는 사임 기자회견에서 “국민들의 지지를 얻기 힘든 상황”이며 “정권을 운영하는 게 더이상 곤란하다”고 말했다. 지난 7월 말 참의원 선거에서 참패한 뒤에도 퇴진 요구를 거부하며 안간힘을 썼지만, 이미 드러난 국민의 판정 앞에선 더 버티기 힘들다고 자인한 셈이다. 【한겨레사설 9.13】
