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TOKYO: Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said he would hold a press conference on the election of the ruling party leadership later on Wednesday (September 2), almost confirming his plan to announce his candidacy in a race that would be highly favored to win.
Suga, a former aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has privately indicated his intention to run as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a source previously told Reuters.
The party leader will take over as prime minister given his majority in the lower house of parliament.
Abe announced his decision to resign last week, citing poor health.
Suga is scheduled to hold his press conference at 5 pm (4 pm Singapore time).
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His main competitors for the top job are likely to be former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, but Suga’s position seems solid.
It has won the backing of five of the seven factions of the PLD, public broadcaster NHK and others reported.
The party decided Tuesday to hold a shortened election with just members of parliament and three votes from each of the 47 prefectures, an advantage for Suga.
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Many chapters of the party will poll rank-and-file members to decide how to allocate their three votes, but experts say this is unlikely to change the momentum that is building for Suga if members of all five factions back him.
The financial markets also favor Suga, assuming he would continue with the “Abenomics” strategy aimed at reviving the economy.
But Ishiba is by far the most popular with the public and has been in a media blitz, appearing on various television shows in recent days.
“During Abenomics, stocks were up, the yen was weak and it generated unprecedented profits for companies – that’s something to be thankful for,” Ishiba said on Fuji TV on Wednesday when asked how it would improve the lives of workers in low income and the unemployed.
“But what do we do with the dark side of that? That’s the biggest question in the post-Abe era,” he said.
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In addition to inheriting an economy amid its worst recession since World War II, Abe’s successor will have to try to ensure that next year’s Olympics, already delayed for a year by the novel coronavirus, go ahead as required. planned.
In recent months, Abe had seen his support drop to one of the lowest levels since he assumed power in December 2012 due to growing discontent among voters with his handling of the coronavirus and scandals among LDP members.
“There are various criticisms of the Abe administration, and we must work on each issue, listening to the voices of the people seriously so as not to lose the public’s trust,” Suga said at one of his twice-daily press conferences as a spokesman for the government. .
