Photo/Illutration Media representatives gather outside Keio University Hospital, where Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives a checkup, on Aug. 17. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a Tokyo hospital on Aug. 17 for a checkup to gauge his physical health during his summer holiday, according to sources close to Abe.

It came as speculation swirls over the prime minister's health.

The sources said he was undergoing a medical examination and would not stay overnight, using his summer holiday to ensure he can maintain good health when he returns to work.

Abe has scheduled no official duties until Aug. 18, according to a senior official at the prime minister’s office.

Abe, 65, left his private residence in Tokyo’s Tomigaya district shortly after 10 a.m. for Keio University Hospital in the capital’s Shinjuku Ward.

He left the hospital a little past 6 p.m. after staying there for about seven and a half hours and headed for his residence.

Hospital sources said he was undergoing an additional examination following a complete physical checkup in June.

Abe usually returns to his electoral constituency of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, or visits his villa in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, to rest during the Bon holiday season. But he canceled this year's trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A weekly magazine has reported that Abe is apparently not in good condition, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied the report at an Aug. 4 news conference.

“There are no problems at all (with his health),” Suga said.

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