In August 2020, Shinzo Abe announced his resignation from the position of Japan prime minister after leading the country from 2012. He decided to resign from the position because of health problems.
Amid Abe’s resignation, the leading party in Japan, the Liberal Democratic party MPs did a voting poll in selecting their new leader.
Recently, Yoshihide Suga was appointed to be the new Japan prime minister after winning 377 of the 534 party votes. Suga has been working under Abe’s administration for almost eight years as the government’s top spokesman. He was expected to replace the prime minister position after Abe’s resignation.
After officially taking the position, Suga has to take up the urgent task to sustain the country’s daily coronavirus cases. He also needs to lead the third-largest economy in the world that has been affected by the pandemic.
Japan is the host country for the upcoming Olympic summer event. He has to work with Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee to plan the event after they decided to postpone the event for a year due to the pandemic.
Suga admitted that he lacks experience in diplomatic skills and refused to be drawn on the prospect of an early election. He wanted to focus on preventing the coronavirus outbreak and regain the country’s economy. It was expected by the finance minister, Taro Aso that the next administration will face criticism as it was formed without the public mandate.
Source: The Guardian