Japan PM Yoshihide Suga to resign after just 1 year in post
- The shock announcement comes with Suga’s approval ratings at an all-time low over his government’s handling of its coronavirus response
- He had been widely expected to seek re-election as LDP leader in a vote set for September 29 and had dropped no hints of his plans to leave office
He told a news conference in Tokyo that he will not run for leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party later this month. Whoever becomes the next LDP leader is virtually assured of becoming prime minister thanks to the party’s dominance in parliament.
“Since I became prime minister a year ago, dealing with coronavirus has been at the centre of my efforts,” Suga told reporters in a brief statement without taking questions. “Dealing with the virus while campaigning for the election would take a huge amount of energy. I realised I couldn’t do both and I should choose one.”
But it was a decision that had not been foreshadowed, with Suga dropping no hints of his plans to leave office after just a single year in power and before contesting his first general election.
“To be honest, I’m surprised,” LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai told reporters earlier on Friday. “But I believe he came to this decision after thinking about it deeply.”
