Japan’s (Washington Insider Magazine) – Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has unexpectedly announced he has no plans to run in the LDP’s upcoming leadership elections. He will also be relinquishing his leadership of the East Asian country.
The move comes with approval ratings for him and the government sitting below 30%. The polls are unlikely to mean the LDP’s hold on the country is at risk, however. The Liberal Democratic Party has since 1955 run Japan almost continuously. Between 2009 and 2012 the Democratic Party briefly held power and a coalition government was formed from 1993 to 1994.
An ineffective COVID response and vaccine rollout are the main causes of the general discontent in Suga’s government. The country has now had more than 1.5 million cases and repeated extended lockdowns. The decision to press ahead with a mostly unattended Olympics despite widespread opposition meant the event – which often provides boosts to host governments – will be remembered as a particular stain on his short tenure.
Although he only held onto the position for a year, his term won’t be won’t be remembered as particularly fleeting. The position has had a revolving door for most of the last fifteen years. Suga was the 9th Prime Minister since 2006. His predecessor Shinzo Abe was an anomaly and served for more than half that period before stepping down due to ill health.
Markets responded positively to the news with Topix stock index closing up by 1.6%. It is expected that his replacement will inject a large fiscal stimulus which contributed to the jump.
Despite the economic miracle that the country experienced in the 2nd half of the 20th century, Japan now sits on top of a growing debt pile. Of advanced economies, it’s the most proportionally indebted compared to GDP in the world. Any new fiscal package is likely to be funded by further debt, impounding the structural problem.
The LDP is due to hold its leadership election on September 29th and it’s widely expected the winner will take the reigns of the parliamentary majority it holds.
Popular minister Taro Kono, who is in charge of the vaccine rollout intends to run. Former foreign minister Fumio Kishida has also already expressed his intention to partake in the election.
The LDP looked to be heading for turmoil, with suggestions Suga was planning on dissolving parliament and sacking his long-term party ally, before bringing Japan back to more familiar territory with another LDP election.
