Japan’s longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe has announced his resignation. Speaking to a press conference this morning, Abe said: “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.” He cited reasons of health: Abe has suffered from colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, for many years. “For almost eight years I controlled my chronic disease, however, this year in June I had a regular check-up and there was a sign of the disease”, he said. “I made a judgement that I should not continue my job as prime minister… I need to fight the disease and need to be treated.”