Abe visits the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima with then-U.S. President Barack Obama on May 27, 2016, after the Group of Seven summit. Obama was the first sitting U.S. leader to visit the city.

In pictures: Looking back on Abe's tenure, from Hiroshima to Mario

Record-breaking premier steps down after seven-plus years at helm

Nikkei staff writers

August 29, 2020 15:22 JST

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly announced his resignation Friday after a consecutive seven years and eight months that marked the longest unbroken stint in that office in the nation's history.

Abe's long hold on power brought a sense of stability to a country that had installed eight leaders in nine years not long before. But he was no stranger to controversy, from his support for controversial security legislation to his handling of COVID-19.