Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that he will resign from his position due to chronic health problems on Friday. In an evening speech from Tokyo, he said that one of his biggest regrets was not being able to resolve the issue surrounding Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s.

Speaking at a press conference on Aug. 28, Abe also said that North Korea remains the top national security threat to Japan, alongside the COVID-19 crisis.