Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga. (Image via DW)

Suga avoids question about reelection future

During a TV program on Sunday, the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, avoided answering the question of whether he would run for another reelection. The question came as Japan is struggling to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

When being asked about the possibility of running in the election of the President of his party, Liberal Democratic Party, Suga only stated that he only wants to focus on steadily doing his job daily. As the party with the most majority in the parliament, the President of LDP is certain to rule Japan as the next PM.

Previously, Suga became Japan's PM in September to continue the remaining term of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, resigning due to his health conditions. As Chief Cabinet Secretary for Abe, Suga is used to working even during holidays.

While he could call for a general election before the House of Representatives' term ends on 21 October, Suga wanted to make sure he will have fulfilled all his promises. As Japan is struggling amid the reoccurrence of the COVID-19 cases, approval ratings for Suga's administration have been slumping, showing that the people are not satisfied with his way of dealing with the pandemic.

Previously, on Friday last week, Suga urged the Japanese people to observe a "quiet" New Year in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 and prevent the overloading of the healthcare facilities. Talking about the postponed visit by the President of China, Xi Jinping, Suga wanted both Japan and China to put COVID-19 countermeasures first and noting that it is not the right time to discuss that at the moment.

Source: https://bit.ly/37QBHi3