Japan: The unpopular prime minister is going to throw in the towel

Struggling in the polls, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Friday that he would not stand for re-election as head of his party in an internal election at the end of September, thus giving up his bid to remain in power.

“I want to focus on the efforts against the coronavirus and with that in mind, I will not stand for election” of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Mr. Suga said after a meeting with the leaders of the ruling political party in the country, which he currently chairs.

Mr. Suga, 72, said he had “realized” that he could not simultaneously lead the fight against COVID-19 and the campaign for his re-election as leader of the LDP.

Mr. Suga had been considering various strategies in recent days to remain in his post, according to the local press, including a last-minute reshuffle of his government and early parliamentary elections before the LDP’s internal vote.

But this last option was poorly received within the party, further weakening Mr. Suga, already very weakened after the defeat last month of one of his protégés in the municipal elections in Yokohama (southwest of Tokyo), his own parliamentary stronghold.

Record unpopularity

The winner of the LDP election, scheduled for September 29, is expected to lead the party to parliamentary elections this autumn.

Since this nationalist right-wing party largely dominates Japanese political life, its leader is virtually guaranteed to become prime minister.

Mr. Suga had hitherto been considered the favorite domestically, despite his government’s record unpopularity in the polls, with barely 30% favorable opinions.

His popularity has plummeted in recent months due to his widely criticized handling of the pandemic, the spread of which remains a serious concern in Japan. The country has been experiencing a record wave of COVID-19 cases since late June, with around 20,000 new cases currently reported daily.

His government was slow to accelerate vaccination and has instituted successive states of emergency in the country since the beginning of 2021. But this system, based on non-binding recommendations, appears less and less effective in containing infections and is wearying the population.

Mr. Suga is also very unpopular for his stubborn insistence on holding the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, despite opposition from a clear majority of Japanese people.

“For the elected members of the LDP, it is a relief not to have to campaign in the legislative elections under the banner of an unpopular prime minister,” said Tomoaki Iwai, professor of political science at Nihon University in Tokyo.

Mr. Suga “never really gave an impression of competence or showed any empathy” toward people during the health crisis, added Corey Wallace, a lecturer at Kanagawa University (southwest of Tokyo) specializing in Japanese politics and international relations. AFP

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