Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga cements his frontrunner position in PM race

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on September 1 cemented his status as the clear frontrunner in the race to become country’s next Prime Minister. Shinzo Abe, who served for nearly for a decade, resigned last week citing health issues.  To fill the void, a nationwide vote is expected later this month. 

The 71-year-old Suga, who has yet not announced his candidacy for the top job, has already become favourite garnering support from the largest faction of the ruling  Liberal Democratic Party(LDP). In addition, two other factions have confirmed their support for Suga, who is all set to make his candidacy official on Sep 2.

Although the dates of the elections have not been announced as yet, Japan's local media has reported that candidates will be required to register their run on September 8, with campaigning beginning immediately after.  A contest for the Prime Ministerial seat usually includes ruling-party lawmakers and LDP members nationwide. However, owing to Abe’s health, LDP has opted to poll only its MPs and three representatives, each from 47 prefectures.

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Closest aide of Abe

Yoshihide Suga has been serving as the chief spokesperson of the Japanese government since Abe assumed power back in 2012 and is also one of the closest aides of Japan PM. He was also considered to be Abe’s potential contender. However, the recent revelation by media reports come in contrary to the remarks he made in the past when he denied the possibility of succeeding Abe saying “never thought about it”. 

Japan’s longest-serving PM announced his resignation during a press conference on Friday, August 28 citing a chronic health problem that has resurfaced. He also told the reporters that it was “gut-wrenching” to have left a number of his goals unfinished. Abe reportedly had ulcerative colitis since he was a teenager and said that the condition was in control with the appropriate treatment. 

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 Image credits: AP