Japan’s PM Suga steps down, sets stage for new leader

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday he would step down, setting the stage for a new premier after a one-year tenure marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response and rapidly dwindling public support.

Suga, who took over after Shinzo Abe resigned last September citing ill health, has seen his support ratings sink below 30% as the nation struggles with its worst wave of COVID-19 infections ahead of a general election this year.

Suga did not capitalise on his last major achievement – hosting the Olympics, which were postponed months before Suga took office as coronavirus cases surged.

His decision not to seek reelection as ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) election this month means the party will choose a new leader, who will become prime minister.

There is no clear frontrunner but the popular minister in charge of vaccination rollout, Taro Kono, intends to run, broadcaster TBS said on Friday without citing sources. Former foreign minister Fumio Kishida has already thrown his hat in the ring.

Before Abe’s record eight-year tenure, the country had gone through six prime ministers in as many years, including Abe’s own troubled first one-year term.

Tokyo stocks jumped on news of Suga’s decision, with the benchmark Nikkei rising 2% and the broader Topix hitting its highest levels since 1991.

“I want to focus on coronavirus response, so I told the LDP executive meeting that I’ve decided not to run in the party leadership race,” Suga told reporters according to Reuters. “I judged that I cannot juggle both and I should concentrate on either of them.”

He said he would hold a news conference as early as next week.

The announcement ended a rollercoaster week in which Suga pulled out all the stops to save his job, including suggestions he would sack his long-term party ally, as well as plans to dissolve parliament and reshuffle party executive and his cabinet.

Suga is expected to stay on until his successor is chosen in the party election slated for Sept. 29. The winner is assured of being premier due to the LDP’s majority in the lower house of parliament. The government has been considering holding the general election on Oct. 17.