Japanese Prime Minister Suga to step down after a year in office
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Friday that he will not seek re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party at the end of September, and public broadcaster NHK reports he will then step down as prime minister. Suga, 72, took over as prime minister in September 2000 to finish out the term of Shinzo Abe, who resigned for health reasons.
The government's slow response to the surge of COVID-19's Delta variant and decision to hold the Tokyo Olympics sent Suga's approval ratings below 30 percent, even after the Olympics went off without any major problems and Japan won a record haul of medals.
The next prime minister will probably be whoever replaces Suga as head of the LDP, and likely contenders include former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, former government minister Sanae Takaichi, and Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccinations, The Wall Street Journal reports. There's also a slim chance the LDP could lose its parliamentary majority in elections to be held no later than Nov. 28.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Whoever leads Japan next "isn't likely to change basic policies such as the country's close alliance with the U.S," the Journal says, but Suga's early departure "raises the risk that the world's third-largest economy will fall into another period resembling the 1990s and 2006-12, when prime ministers changed nearly every year and the country's profile on the international stage withered."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Arizona kicks off swing-state early voting
Speed Read The voting began with less than a month to go before the presidential election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Netanyahu talk ahead of Israeli hit on Iran
Speed Read The pair spoke for the first time since August
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump kept up with Putin, sent Covid tests, book says
Speed Read The revelation comes courtesy of a new book by Bob Woodward
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Liz Cheney campaigns with Harris in Wisconsin
Speed Read The pair does not agree on much politically, but they share an anti-Trump stance
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Harris visit storm-hit North Carolina, Georgia
Speed Read President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took separate tours of the south to view the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Jack Smith filing details Jan. 6 case against Trump
Speed Read The special counsel's newly unsealed brief argues Trump is not immune from prosecution and gives new details on his efforts to overturn the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published