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TOKYO: Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, a longtime loyal aide to outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was set to win the ruling party’s leadership elections on Monday (September 14), virtually ensuring that he will replace Abe this week ranked highest in the nation.
Suga, 71, who has said he would follow Abe’s key foreign and economic policies, is expected to get the majority of the votes from 394 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers and is likely to get a majority of 141 votes. of the local chapters of the party.
The winner of the race for the PLD is virtually certain to be elected prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday due to the majority of the PLD in the lower house. He will serve Abe’s term as party leader until September 2021.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, said last month that he would resign due to health problems, ending a nearly eight-year term.
READ: Japanese companies want Suga to become the next prime minister and tackle tax reform: Survey
Suga has said that he will continue Abe’s signature “Abenomics” strategy of hyper-easy monetary policy, public spending and reforms as he juggles the challenges of COVID-19 and an economy in recession, and faces long-term problems such as an aging economy. Japan’s population and low birth rate. .
Suga, whose résumé is short on diplomatic experience, faces geopolitical challenges such as establishing ties with the winner of the November 3 US presidential election and balancing concerns about China’s maritime aggressiveness with bilateral economic interdependence.
Speculation is growing that Suga will call snap elections for the lower house of parliament next month to increase his chances of winning a full three-year term as head of the PLD next year. The vote for the lower house is due to take place in late October 2021.
READ: Japan’s ruling coalition partner Komeito indicates he does not want snap elections
Suga, the son of a northern Japanese strawberry farmer who got his start in politics as a local assemblyman, has held the key position of Chief Cabinet Secretary since 2012, serving as the main spokesman for the Abe government, coordinating policies and supporting the bureaucrats online.
He has the image of more of a behind-the-scenes operator than a front-line leader, but he rose in opinion polls after he announced his candidacy to succeed Abe. He gained the support of most of the PLD factions, outperforming his rivals, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.
