Japanese Prime Minister Plans to Step Down from Power

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga intends to step down from power and will not run again for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party in the upcoming elections on September 29, as announced by the party's second-in-command on Friday. Toshihiro Nikai stated to reporters that Suga "said he wants to focus his efforts on measures against the coronavirus and that he will not participate in the elections" for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party, confirming information reported by local media. Nikai commented, "Honestly, I was surprised. It’s really unfortunate. He did everything he could, but after careful consideration, he made his decision." Suga (72) was previously considered the frontrunner for this internal election to select the candidate who would lead the party in the legislative elections scheduled for the fall, despite a significant drop in his government's popularity to record lows in opinion polls. At the end of August, his government received only 26% support, according to a survey conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun, which is an all-time low. Recent polls also indicated his support barely exceeds 30%. Suga’s popularity has sharply declined over the past months due to his management of the ongoing pandemic crisis in Japan and his insistence on holding the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics at all costs, despite the opposition from a majority of the Japanese public. Suga came to power in September 2020 after establishing himself as a consensus figure within the party to succeed former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was his deputy, following his sudden resignation for health reasons.