Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to join race for Shinzo Abe's succession

Following the announcement of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stepping down from his position over health concerns, country’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga will now join the race to succeed the former as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who would also become the next premier of Japan. As reported by ANI, a source familiar with the entire matter told a Japanese media agency on August 30 that Suga has informed the LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai about his wish to run in the election for the party leadership.

Reportedly Japanese government’s chief spokesperson revealed his plans of eyeing the senior post came a day after Shinzo Abe announced that he would be stepping down. The agency’s source added that several senior members of the party have hailed Suga in the past for his crisis management abilities considering the crucial stage in the nation to maintain policy continuity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Senior LDP lawmakers believe that the election is slated to be held on or around September 15. Apart from Suga, LDP policy chief and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba have also indicated towards participating in the upcoming elections and takeover after outgoing Japan PM. Abe has ordered Nikai to make the required decisions regarding the party leadership race. 

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”. 

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Longest-serving Japan PM

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. 

Abe’s stepping-down as the country leader came after the speculations about his health and well-being began resurfacing in the summer and drastically grew when he visited Tokyo hospital two weeks in a row for unspecified health checkups. He has said that he is now on a fresh treatment that requires IV injections and even though there are some improvements, there is no surety that it will cure his condition and therefore, decided to resign.

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(With ANI inputs)

Image: @sugawriter/Twitter