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TOKYO (AP) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cabinet resigned, clearing the way for his successor to assume power after parliamentary confirmation later Wednesday.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, announced last month that he would step down due to health problems.
“I have dedicated my body and soul to economic recovery and diplomacy to protect Japan’s national interest every day since we returned to power,” Abe told reporters in the prime minister’s office before addressing his latest cabinet meeting. . “During this time, I was able to face various challenges together with people and I am proud of myself.”
He said his health is improving thanks to the treatment and that he, as a legislator, will support his future successor, Yosihide Suga, from now on. He also thanked the people for their understanding and strong support for the upcoming leadership under Suga.
Suga, Abe’s chief cabinet secretary and long considered his right-hand man, was elected Monday as the new head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, virtually guaranteeing his election as prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday due to the majority of the party.
Suga, a self-made politician and son of a strawberry farmer in northern Akita prefecture, has emphasized his experience by promising to serve the interests of ordinary people and rural communities.
He has said that he will follow Abe’s unfinished policies and that his top priorities will be fighting the coronavirus and changing an economy hit by the pandemic. He won the support of the party’s heavyweights and their supporters early in the campaign with the expectation that he would continue with Abe’s line.
Suga has been a loyal supporter of Abe since Abe’s first term as prime minister from 2006 to 2007. Abe’s term ended abruptly due to illness, and Suga helped him return as prime minister in 2012.
Abe, 65, has ulcerative colitis and his current treatment requires intravenous injections. He said his condition had improved last month, but that, in the face of continued treatment and physical weakness, he decided to quit.
Suga has praised Abe’s diplomacy and economic policies when asked what he would like to achieve as prime minister.
Suga, who does not belong to any wing within the party and opposes factionalism, says he is a reformer who will break vested interests and the rules that hinder reforms. It says it will establish a new government agency to accelerate Japan’s lagging digital transformation.
However, in a reorganization of key positions in the ruling party, Suga uniformly assigned top positions to key factions, a balancing act seen as a return of favor for their support in the leadership race.
Suga said he will appoint “reform-minded and hardworking people” to the new cabinet, which will launch later on Wednesday. About half of Abe’s Cabinet members are expected to be retained or transferred to different ministerial positions.
Media reports say that some key ministers, including Finance Minister Taro Aso, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto, and Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, they will stay. Abe’s younger brother Nobuo Kishi will reportedly be appointed defense minister, replacing Taro Kono, who is expected to be transferred to minister for administrative reforms.
Compared to his political prowess at home, Suga has hardly traveled abroad and his diplomatic skills are unknown, though he is expected to pursue Abe’s priorities.
The new prime minister will inherit a number of challenges, including relations with China, continuing his assertive actions in the disputed East China Sea, and what to do with the Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed to next summer due to the coronavirus. And he will have to establish a good relationship with whoever wins the US presidential race.
