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Highlights
- Japan PM Yoshihide Suga is set to resign amid public dissatisfaction over his handling of Covid-19 and the Olympics.
- Serving for less than a year, Suga is scheduled to step down on 30 September.
- Following the news, Japan’s TOPIX stock index rose 1.6% to a 30-year high, while Nikkei jumped about 1.8%.
After a historically unpopular tenure of less than a year, Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has stated that he won’t run as a leader for the party re-election this month amid criticism for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the Tokyo Olympics.
Suga, 72, assumed the post after former PM Shinzo Abe, who was the longest-serving prime minister, resigned last August due to health reasons. Political observers felt Suga wasn’t comfortable as a public leader, and preferred operating from behind, which was the main reason for his unpopularity.
Staying in power for almost eight consecutive years, Abe’s leadership didn’t witness instability. But now experts feel that Suga’s early departure could bring back instability as the country is hit by the worst wave of coronavirus so far.
Suga had been making efforts to restore and save his leadership till last month. But due to unknown reasons, he announced his resignation abruptly. His approval ratings had been falling steeply as the nation's democratic head due to his management of the pandemic and the Olympics.
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Last month after former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida announced his candidature as the leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, it was expected that Suga will call for an early general election after dissolving the parliament to keep hold his position, and also reshuffle his Cabinet and other leadership positions within the party. His today’s decision was surprising for many.
Experts feel that Suga was under pressure to perform as the number of Covid cases were rapidly increasing and hitting new records every day as hospitals were not accepting the heavy influx of patients amid the chaotic vaccine rollout programme.
Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary General of the Liberal Democrats, who announced Suga’s resignation, told the reporters that the prime minister instead “wanted to focus on the prevention of the coronavirus”.
Former foreign minister Kishida is the only declared candidate who has come forward to take the position of Suga for the 29 September election as the leader of the Liberal Democrats. Although Sanae Takaichi, former communications minister, has also shown interest.
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Considering the entire post-war era, Japan has seen the Liberal Democrats in power for years. In the past decade, the political opposition has been in a mess after the mismanaged and mishandled response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Impact on the stock market
After Suga announced his resignation, Japanese stock markets touched new highs on Friday. Japan’s TOPIX stock index jumped by 1.50% to a 30-year high. Nikkei also jumped by about 1.8%. This shows that the market participants were relieved after Suga’s decision.
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