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In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced today that he is resigning because of a chronic health problem.
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He has held the post longer than anyone, including a grandfather and great uncle who were also prime ministers.
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Our foreign affairs correspondent, Nick Schifrin, reports.
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Shinzo Abe and his family are political veterans, but one of his lasting legacies may be an alliance with a political novice.
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I grabbed him and hugged him, because that's the way we feel.
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Donald, president, you are excellent businessman.
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You have fought the uphill struggle and this is the dynamism of democracy.
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He flattered President Trump. And he understood President Trump's personality.
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Mike Mochizuki is the U.S.-Japan chair at George Washington University.
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He says the Abe-Trump bromance, forged over sumo wrestling, golf selfies, and awkward handshakes, strengthened the bilateral relationship to confront China and North Korea and outlast Trump.
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Minister Abe understood the strategic situation.
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Without a strong U.S.-Japan relationship, Japan would not then have the autonomy and freedom to pursue its own interests in Asia.
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Top of the list, a revitalized military.
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Abe's Japan purchased more U.S. weaponry. He failed to revise the country's pacifist constitution, but pushed through changes that allow Japanese forces to fight in a crisis.
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This opened the way for Japan to cooperate with other countries, especially the United States, on a variety of common defense missions.
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Abenomics.
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Economically, Abenomics lowered interest rates, increased spending, and pulled the economy out of deflation, but it achieved only modest success.
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He did manage to end political instability and a rotating door of leaders.
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Just to be able to stay in office this long, and to stabilize foreign policy, and chip away at some of the economic challenges, you know, that, in itself, I think, is a lasting achievement.
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Abe leaves his successor with major structural economic concerns exacerbated by COVID (19).
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And, today, in a final press conference, an emotional Abe said it broke his heart to leave the job half done.
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For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.