Japanese Prime Minister Suga to step down after a year in office

Yoshihide Suga
(Image credit: Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.