Former Japanese leader says Shinzo Abe might step down as prime minister in June

(Image credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)

published 16 April 2018

A former Japanese prime minister is predicting that the country's embattled current leader, Shinzo Abe, will resign in June.

"The situation is getting dangerous," Junichiro Koizumi told the weekly magazine Aera. "Won't Mr. Abe resign around the time parliament's session ends," on June 20? Abe has denied several reports that he intervened in land sales and building deals to help friends, but he's facing mounting calls to step down. On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated near parliament, chanting, "Abe quit!"

Nippon TV released a new survey on Sunday showing Abe's support is only at 26.7 percent — the lowest point since he took office in December 2012.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.