Japan's Yoshihide Suga to step down, paves way for new prime minister
Suga, who took office when Shinzo Abe resigned in September due to ill health, has seen his approval ratings fall below 30% as the country battles its deadliest wave of COVID-19 infections before a national election this year.
FollowJapanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced his resignation on Friday, paving the way for a new leader after a one-year term plagued by an unpopular COVID-19 reaction and fast declining public support. Suga, who took office when Shinzo Abe resigned in September due to ill health, has seen his approval ratings fall below 30% as the country battles its deadliest wave of COVID-19 infections before a national election this year. Suga's decision not to run in the September election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) means the party will pick a new leader who would become prime minister.
Before Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister with an eight-year term, the country had six prime ministers in six years, including Abe's own difficult initial one-year tenure.
The Nikkei average futures in Japan surged 2% shortly after the media reported that Suga would not run.
Addressing reporters, Suga stated that he wants to focus on coronavirus response and has chosen not to compete for party leadership. He claimed it takes a lot of energy to deal with both the coronavirus response and the leadership campaign, and he can't do both.
Suga spoke to the media in his office for less than two minutes before leaving amid cries for further explanation. He stated that he would conduct a press conference as soon as next week.
Officials from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) stated Suga would serve out his term as president until his replacement is elected in a party-wide election on September 29. The administration has proposed conducting a general election on October 17.
