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TOKYO: Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has pointed to the possibility of holding snap elections if he becomes the country’s next prime minister, the Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday (September 8).
Suga, one of the favorites to succeed the acting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also emphasized Japan’s determination to hold the Tokyo Olympics next year despite the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We would like to contain the pandemic and make this happen,” Suga said in an interview with Asahi. “There are several extraordinary merits for Japan to host the Games.”
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He also said that the opinions of pandemic experts were important in judging whether COVID-19 was slowing down enough for the next prime minister to call snap elections, according to Asahi.
“There is no change in my stance as chief cabinet minister that what the government public wants most is to focus on measures to deal with the coronavirus pandemic,” Suga was quoted as saying.
“But the prime minister has the right to dissolve parliament (and call early elections). If the next prime minister decides to call one, that should be the case. If not, it won’t happen,” he said.
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Suga is expected to win the leadership elections of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on September 14, a date set after Abe’s decision to resign last month due to an outbreak of his chronic intestinal disease. The winner is practically certain of becoming prime minister thanks to the PLD’s parliamentary majority.
Markets have been rife with speculation that Suga, by becoming prime minister, could call snap elections to solidify his political grip.
That speculation got a boost after opinion polls showed a surge in voter approval of Suga and Abe’s accomplishments.
The race for the LDP leadership between Suga and two rivals, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, formally begins on Tuesday.
But Suga, chief cabinet secretary since December 2012, already has the support of most of the party’s factions.
The 71-year-old is expected to follow the “Abenomics” policies characteristic of his hyper-flexible head of monetary policy and government spending as Japan grapples with the twin challenges of a coronavirus outbreak and the virus-hit economy revival.
Suga, who has little diplomatic experience, will also face a number of geopolitical challenges, including establishing ties with the winner of the US presidential election and tensions with China over his maritime assertiveness.
