Yoshihide Suga
Yoshihide Suga (菅 義偉, Suga Yoshihide, born 6 December 1948) is a Japanese politician. In September 2020, he was elected Prime Minister of Japan and became President of the Liberal Democratic Party replacing Shinzo Abe. He resigned in September 2021 after negative approval ratings because of his government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan and the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was replaced by former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. In September 2024, Suga became the Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Yoshihide Suga | |
|---|---|
菅 義偉 | |
.jpg) Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 16 September 2020 – 4 October 2021 | |
| Monarch | Naruhito |
| Deputy | Tarō Asō |
| Preceded by | Shinzo Abe |
| Succeeded by | Fumio Kishida |
| Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office 30 September 2024 | |
| President | Shigeru Ishiba |
| Secretary-General | Hiroshi Moriyama |
| Preceded by | Tarō Asō |
| President of the Liberal Democratic Party | |
| In office 14 September 2020 – 29 September 2021 | |
| Secretary-General | Toshihiro Nikai |
| Preceded by | Shinzo Abe |
| Succeeded by | Fumio Kishida |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office 26 December 2012 – 16 September 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Osamu Fujimura |
| Succeeded by | Katsunobu Katō |
| Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications | |
| In office 26 September 2006 – 27 August 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Heizō Takenaka |
| Succeeded by | Hiroya Masuda |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| Assumed office 20 October 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Constituency | Kanagawa 2nd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 December 1948 Yuzawa, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mariko Suga |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Hosei University (LLB) |
| Signature | .svg){kind=small} |
| Website | Official website |
Early life
changeSuga was born to a family of strawberry farmers in Ogachi (now Yuzawa), a rural area in Akita Prefecture. He moved to Tokyo and earned a Bachelor of Laws from Hosei University in 1973.[1][2] He worked in a cardboard factory in Tokyo to pay his tuition.[3]
Political career
changeHe was the Chief Cabinet Secretary from December 2012 to September 2020 during the Shinzo Abe cabinet.[4]
He represented the Kanagawa 2nd district in the House of Representatives, first elected in 1996. He was Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications in the cabinet of Shinzo Abe from September 2006 to August 2007.
He is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Prime Minister
changeIn August 2020, Suga announced his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic leadership election to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who resigned.[5][6] Suga easily won the election.[7] He became the Prime Minister of Japan on 16 September 2020.
When Suga began his time in office he was popular, but his approval ratings quickly fell because the public did not like his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and management of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. By the end of Suga's premiership he was recording some of the lowest approval ratings in Japanese history.[8] He was not doing well in polling numbers of the 2021 LDP leadership election and upcoming 2021 general election.
Suga announced on 3 September 2021 that he would not seek reelection as President of the LDP, ending his term as Prime Minister after just one year.[9] He left office on 4 October and was replaced by Fumio Kishida.[10]
Personal life
changeSuga is married and has three sons.[11] His wife, Mariko, is the sister of one of his former co-workers in the office of Hikosaburo Okonogi.[12]
References
change- ↑ Hashimoto, Goro (3 July 2019). "Suga Yoshihide: Japan's Next Prime Minister?". nippon.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ Ryall, Julian (5 May 2019). "Who will lead Japan after Abe? Washington visit offers new clues". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ Shigeta, Shunsuke (12 May 2019). "How Abe's deputy Suga grew to power broker and possible successor". Nikkei Asian Review. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ "The Key Government Post of Chief Cabinet Secretary". nippon.com. 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
- ↑ "Japan succession race kicks off, starring Abe's deputies and rival". Nikkei Asian Review. 2020-08-29. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- ↑ Sieg, Linda (29 August 2020). "In race to replace Japan's Abe, loyalist Suga emerges as strong contender". Reuters. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ↑ Sugiyama, Satoshi (14 September 2020). "Yoshihide Suga set to become Japan's prime minister after winning LDP election". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ↑ "Japan's Prime Minister to Step Aside After Just a Year in Office". The New York Times. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ↑ "Japan PM Suga says won't run in ruling party leadership race-NHK". Reuters. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- ↑ "Japan's Prime Minister to Step Aside After Just a Year in Office". The New York Times. 3 September 2021.
- ↑ "プロフィール". 内閣官房長官・衆議院議員 菅（すが）義偉 ホームページ (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
- ↑ "菅官房長官 ひと目ぼれで結婚…令和おじさんの意外すぎる半生 | 女性自身". WEB女性自身 (in Japanese). 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
Other websites
change
Media related to Yoshihide Suga at Wikimedia Commons- Official website (in Japanese)
- Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet Official website
