Japanese PM admitted to hospital for health checkup

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe checked into a hospital in Tokyo on Monday after one of his aides described as a "health checkup", although rumours have been swirling about the leader's ill health.

Kyodo News reported that Abe's visit to Keio University Hospital in the capital came a day after former economy minister Akira Amari told a TV programme that the Prime Minister needs to rest, intimating he may be suffering from exhaustion.

Abe, 65, during his first tenure as Prime Minister, which started in late September 2006, had abruptly stepped down from his post in 2007 due to chronic ulcerative colitis, an intestinal disease.

Earlier the month, however, Japan's top government spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, downplayed any potential health issues Abe may be going through.

"I see the prime minister every day and I think he has no health problems at all as he has been carrying out his duties smoothly," Suga said.

A government official with knowledge of the matter said that the Prime Minister is undergoing a one-day health checkup at the hospital in Tokyo. (/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )