Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to resign, national broadcaster NHK said on Friday.
Abe, 65, wanted to avoid causing problems to the government due to his worsening chronic illness.
“Abe intends to resign as his illness has worsened and he worries it will cause trouble,” NHK said without citing a source.
Reports of Abe’s resignation emerged last week following unannounced visits to the hospital, raising concerns over his health.
During his first tenure as prime minister, which started in late September 2006, Abe abruptly stepped down from his post in 2007 due to chronic ulcerative colitis, an intestinal disease.
His current term was expected to last until September 2021.
Abe is expected to provide an explanation about his health and lay out new measures to fight the coronavirus at a news conference scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday.
Shortly after the NHK report, Tokyo stocks plunged by over two percent as the Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.10 percent, or 486.99 points, to 22,721.87, reversing earlier gains.