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TOKYO – Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trusted right-hand man since December 2012, comfortably won the ruling party’s leadership elections on Monday (September 14).
This means he will be the next prime minister after Abe, Japan’s oldest leader, abruptly resigned last month due to an outbreak of ulcerative colitis, a stress-induced chronic digestive disease.
Suga said in his victory speech that he will continue the policies of his predecessor, while pushing for reforms in areas such as inefficiencies in the bureaucracy.
“A political vacuum cannot be tolerated in a national crisis like Covid-19,” he said. “My mission is to steadily overcome the crisis while advancing Mr. Abe’s efforts.”
“I want to create a government that people can trust. I will go ahead with deregulation and put an end to ministry sectionalism, endemic vested interests and the practice of blindly following past precedents, ”he said.
To achieve this, he previously pledged to recruit reform-minded individuals and subject matter experts, rather than closely following the party’s tradition of assigning cabinet posts to factions.
Abe, for his part, said in brief comments after the result that it was “indisputable” that Suga was the best person to move Japan forward.
He said, to thunderous applause: “For the past seven years and eight months, I have been watching Mr. Suga sweat and quietly work for the country.”
The Diet, as Japan’s Parliament is known, will convene on Wednesday for a three-day extraordinary session to inaugurate the new leader. Suga is expected to appoint the top brass of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday and his new cabinet on Wednesday.
The son of strawberry farmers in northeastern Akita prefecture, Suga has enjoyed a surge in public support in recent weeks. He has presented himself as the best continuity candidate for political stability, highlighting his experience of having been heavily involved in policy-making and bureaucratic affairs since he was appointed chief cabinet secretary in December 2012, when Abe took office.
While his resume on diplomatic issues is much thinner, the PLD lawmaker for eight terms in Kanagawa prefecture, who entered national politics at the age of 47, has vowed to continue the diplomatic legacy of his predecessor, including the advancement of the security alliance with the United States.
Suga, 71, inherits a recessionary economy, as well as other pressing problems such as an aging population and a low birth rate, exemplified by the fact that his own hometown, Yuzawa City in Akita Prefecture , It’s sinking. It will also have to face geopolitical challenges, including growing tensions between the United States and China.
Two high-ranking PLD politicians, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and Defense Minister Taro Kono, have said in recent days that they expect the Diet to be dissolved for an early election next month.
Elections are not scheduled until October next year, but the PLD has a wave of support and Suga will undoubtedly be willing to cement his leadership with a public mandate.
On Sunday, Suga dodged a question about whether a quick survey is in the offing, saying only: “What people want most is to strike a balance between preventing more Covid-19 infections and promoting economic activities.”
Suga won 377 votes, or 70.5 percent of the 534 valid ballots cast in the race Monday, including 288 votes from legislators and 89 votes from prefectural delegates.
A total of 535 votes were at stake, comprising 394 PLD legislators with one vote each and 141 votes from delegates from the 47 local prefectural chapters with three votes each.
In second place was former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, 63, with 89 votes comprising 79 votes from legislators and 10 from prefectural delegates.
In last place was the 63-year-old former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who obtained 68 votes from 26 legislators and 42 votes from prefectural delegates.
While the PLD president has a three-year term, Suga will only serve the remainder of Abe’s term, which is set to expire in September 2021, after which another party leadership vote will have to be called.
The Japanese business community praised the result.
Suntory Holdings CEO Tak Niinami said he anticipated a takeover and smooth progression of Abe-era policies, but also called on the new government to focus on promoting digital measures and increasing productivity.
He added: “As unemployment will rise, the government should seek medium to long-term economic growth through policies that allow the private sector to take the lead in improving productivity, rather than government-focused policies.”
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