who is Yoshihide Suga and why he is replacing Shinzo Abe as prime minister ?

He announced his resignation in August 2020, after serving Japan for 8 years in his second term.

He is the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister in history.

Although he still had one year left in his term, he vacated his position citing his bad health.

Shinzo Abe suffers from colitis, a chronic digestive disease that causes inflammation of the inner lining of the colon.

Colitis was the reason why he resigned as the Prime Minister of Japan in 2007, just after a year in his first tenure. He was reelected in 2012.

(Courtesy: Al Jazeera)

The timing of Shinzo Abe’s exit might not necessarily be very appropriate as the country battles COVID-19 and recession. But his replacement, who has extensive experience and enjoys a good reputation, does reassure things a bit.

Yoshihide Suga is replacing Shinzo Abe as the Prime Minister of Japan. He has taken the office.

Yoshihide Suga is the head of Japan’s in-power Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Before taking the office, he was already a key government adviser and spokesperson, positioned as the chief cabinet secretary. He played a significant role in what Shinzo Abe’s government did and achieved in the past 8 years.

He is a popular face in the country, who remained very close to the outgoing Prime Minister.

So, his election as the new state leader didn’t come off as a surprise.

Yoshihide Suga won 314 out of 465 votes in the lower house and 142 out of 240 votes in the upper chamber to be elected as the new Prime Minister of Japan.

(Courtesy: Foreign Policy)

Little is known about his personal life though. He has kept his family afar from media attention. Only in rare interviews did he slip some details, like he starts and ends the day with 100 sit-ups and he loves pancakes.

He was born to a strawberry farmer in a rural part of Northern Japan. He was elected as a municipal assembly member in Yokohama in 1987. In 1996, he won a lower house seat. Since then, he has been a strong supporter of Shinzo Abe.

As the new Prime Minister of Japan, a lot is on his plate.

(Courtesy: TRT World)

Pandemic, economic downturn, China’s aggression, building relationship with foreign leaders, and handling Japan’s various internal issues, like an aging population…

So, a lot is expected from Yoshihide Suga. Let’s see how he performs and whether his reputation maps to his work as the Prime Minister.