Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday returned to hospital resulting in growing speculation about his health. The 65-year-old PM, who set a new record for the longest consecutive term in office, had spent more than seven hours at a hospital in Tokyo last week during a previously unannounced medical check-up that his aides insisted was routine.

Local media cited sources as saying Abe’s return visit Monday was to receive the results of that check-up, but no further information was provided. Abe’s health has been the subject of growing speculation, with reports before his check-up that he had been vomiting blood.

The prime minister resigned just a year into his first term in 2007, citing his health among other factors. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and spent months undergoing treatment. Upon his return to power, he said he had overcome the illness.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga has denied Abe is sick, but members of the prime minister’s party have expressed concern about his health.

Return of Abe to the hospital comes as of Monday, he has been in power for 2,799 uninterrupted days, breaking the record previously set by his great uncle Eisaku Sato and becoming the country’s longest-serving prime minister.

The record comes at a difficult time for Abe, who in addition to his possible health woes faces plummeting public support thanks to his handling of the coronavirus.

A poll published Sunday by the Kyodo news agency found the approval rating for his cabinet stands at 36%, the second-lowest since he returned to office in 2012. The survey conducted over the weekend found 58.4% were unhappy with the government’s handling of the coronavirus.

While Japan has seen a comparatively small outbreak — with nearly 62,000 infections and close to 1,200 deaths — Abe has been slammed for his economic response as well as a widely mocked programme to distribute reusable cloth face masks.