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TOKYO, Sept. 14 (AFP): Japan’s ruling party elected Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga as its new leader on Monday, making him almost certain to replace Shinzo Abe as the country’s next prime minister. .
Suga easily won the vote, garnering 377 out of a total of 534 votes from legislators and regional representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, against two rivals.
Even before formally announcing his candidacy, the 71-year-old had won the support of key factions within the ruling party, and his candidacy was seen as promising stability and a continuation of Abe’s policies.
The PLD has chosen to poll only its legislators in parliament and three representatives from each of the country’s 47 regions, avoiding a larger vote that includes rank-and-file members who, according to officials, would have taken too long to organize.
The format is expected to further bolster Suga against his two competitors, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida.
Ishiba is popular with Japanese voters, but some in his party view him with suspicion for having left their ranks and defying Abe’s leadership.
Kishida was previously seen as Abe’s favorite successor, but appeared to fall out of favor in the months before the prime minister decided to resign.
Abe, who broke records as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister with more than eight years in power for two terms, has refused to endorse any candidate.
He made the shocking announcement that he would resign with a year remaining in his term at the end of August, saying that the recurrence of ulcerative colitis with which he has long struggled prevented him from staying.
If Suga succeeds, analysts say there are no major policy changes on the agenda, and the candidate himself has said his candidacy is meant to ensure the continuation of Abe’s key policies.
The next prime minister, however, will face a series of difficult challenges.
The country was already in recession before the coronavirus pandemic, and many of the gains from Abenomics’ signature economic policy are now in jeopardy.
Suga has said that boosting the economy will be a top priority, along with containing the virus – essential if the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics opens as scheduled in July 2021.
Diplomatic challenges are also on the agenda, including protecting the US alliance and navigating ties with China as world opinion hardens against Beijing after the coronavirus and the unrest in Hong Kong.
“Now is a difficult time for Japan as the United States is putting pressure on China,” said Makoto Iokibe, professor of diplomatic and political history at Hyogo University.
“But simply following Washington’s path and increasing tensions with China is not what Japan is interested in,” he told AFP.
A key question remains whether Suga will decide to call an early general election to consolidate his position and avoid being seen as an interim facing a new vote in a year, when Abe’s term would have ended.
Several senior government officials have raised the possibility, perhaps as early as October, but Suga has been cautious so far.
Much of Japan’s rebellious opposition has recently rallied into a new bloc, hoping to pose a stronger challenge to a ruling party that has been in power for nearly a few years in the past six decades.
But the PLD would still be highly favored in any new election, even if Suga’s personal appeal to voters remains an open question.
“Mr. Suga is capable of implementing policies by controlling bureaucrats, but his weakness is in winning the hearts of the public,” said Iokibe. – AFP
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