Reuters, Tokyo :
Yoshihide Suga, a longtime lieutenant of Japan’s Shinzo Abe, has emerged as a strong contender to succeed him as prime minister, an outcome that would extend the fiscal and monetary stimulus that defined Abe’s nearly eight years in office.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, said on Friday he was stepping down due to a worsening of a chronic illness, setting the stage for a leadership election within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
While some other would-be successors have declared their intention to run, the 71-year-old Suga has said he doesn’t want the job. But such comments have been called into question by an aggressive media push in recent days that put him squarely in the public eye.
“They are really going to try to get Suga to replace Abe and continue the Abe government without Abe,” said Sophia University political science professor Koichi Nakano.
In an interview with Reuters this week, Suga stressed the need to spur economic growth over tightening restrictions to contain the virus, pointing to the need to promote tourism.
Yoshihide Suga, a longtime lieutenant of Japan’s Shinzo Abe, has emerged as a strong contender to succeed him as prime minister, an outcome that would extend the fiscal and monetary stimulus that defined Abe’s nearly eight years in office.
Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, said on Friday he was stepping down due to a worsening of a chronic illness, setting the stage for a leadership election within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
While some other would-be successors have declared their intention to run, the 71-year-old Suga has said he doesn’t want the job. But such comments have been called into question by an aggressive media push in recent days that put him squarely in the public eye.
“They are really going to try to get Suga to replace Abe and continue the Abe government without Abe,” said Sophia University political science professor Koichi Nakano.
In an interview with Reuters this week, Suga stressed the need to spur economic growth over tightening restrictions to contain the virus, pointing to the need to promote tourism.
