PM Narendra Modi with former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe. (Photo: Twitter @Narendra Modi)

Hours after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation citing a chronic health problem, his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi said he was pained to hear about his “ill health” and wished for his speedy recovery.

He also praised Abe’s “wise leadership” and “personal commitment” which he said strengthened the India-Japan partnership like never before.

Taking to Twitter, Modi said: “Pained to hear about your ill health, my dear friend @AbeShinzo. In recent years, with your wise leadership and personal commitment, the India-Japan partnership has become deeper and stronger than ever before. I wish and pray for your speedy recovery.”

Pained to hear about your ill health, my dear friend @AbeShinzo. In recent years, with your wise leadership and personal commitment, the India-Japan partnership has become deeper and stronger than ever before. I wish and pray for your speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/JjziLay2gD

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2020

Stepping down from his post earlier in the day, Abe had apologised to citizens for not being able to fulfil his duties. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, said it was not up to him to decide on his successor.

Explained | Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe resigns: here’s how his tenure was and what happens next

Abe has had ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager and has said the condition was controlled with treatment. Concerns about Abe’s health grew this month when he visited a Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups. He is now on a new treatment that requires IV injections, he said.

While there is some improvement, there is no guarantee that it will cure his condition and so he decided to step down after treatment Monday, he said.

Abe said his health problem was under control until earlier this year but was found to have relapsed in June when he had an annual checkup.

With inputs from AP

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