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The fabled leadership of Japan has been humbled by the coronavirus. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga became a rare leader of a developed country to put in his papers because of the worsening pandemic.<\/p>\n
The announcement came on Sept. 3 as 72-year-old Suga\u2019s popularity dropped to an all-time low. With Covid-19 infections skyrocketing, hospitals struggling to admit patients and tardy progress of its vaccination campaign, the world\u2019s third-largest economy is now grappling with its worst\u00a0Covid-19 wave. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Suga\u2019s immediate predecessor and the country\u2019s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, abruptly quit in August 2020, a year ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n
Abe left office due to a bout of illness in the midst of the surging pandemic. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rallied around Suga, his right-hand man and chief cabinet secretary, to shore up Japan\u2019s coronavirus response.<\/p>\n
However, his botched response to the pandemic brought his prime ministerial innings to an end. The fifth wave, triggered by the Delta variant, and a slow vaccination rollout (47 percent of the population are now fully vaccinated) proved Suga\u2019s undoing.<\/p>\n
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Japan had reported 1,580,517 Covid-19 infections and 16,387 deaths as of Sept. 7. Despite deep public fears over hosting the recent Tokyo Olympics, Suga went ahead and proved to be hugely unpopular.<\/p>\n
The stakes are high for the LDP, which has dominated Japanese politics for decades<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The uncharismatic PM, born to a family of strawberry farmers, failed to connect with the public, according to public opinion. The LDP under Suga suffered defeats in this year\u2019s regional elections and lost the mayoral race in Yokohama, the prime minister\u2019s adopted political hometown.<\/p>\n
The stakes are high for the LDP, which has dominated Japanese politics for decades. It has to select the next president at the end of this month and face a general election later in the year under the new leader.<\/p>\n
The Liberal Democrats have been at the helm of affairs in Japan for almost the entire post-war era. The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), have been in disarray after being blamed for the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.<\/p>\n
With the same party assured of victory in the coming polls, Japan\u2019s policies on the economy, trade and international relations are unlikely to undergo a change.<\/p>\n
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On Japan\u2019s foreign outlook, Suga improved on Abe\u2019s legacy to bolster\u00a0Indo-Pacific security by taking the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising Japan, the US, Australia and India to the next level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Indo-Pacific\u2019s most sensitive security grouping is aimed at China in the light of a changing geopolitical order in Asia after the emergence of Beijing, a declared nuclear power, as the second-largest economy in the world.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s 2021 defense white paper cited China and North Korea, which is reported to have nuclear weapons, as the two security threats to Japan.<\/p>\n
Suga showed a strong resolve to face the Chinese challenge in Asia and the world.<\/p>\n
After he announced his decision to quit, a US State Department spokesperson said that Suga was the first foreign leader President Joe Biden\u00a0had asked to visit the White House for talks. With the Biden-Suga summit in April, he achieved a \u201cglobal partnership for a new era\u201d with Japan\u2019s trusted ally.<\/p>\n
The Catholic Church in Japan has been urging the Suga government to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that came into force on Jan. 22.<\/p>\n
But the government has been sticking to its long-standing position to remain under the US \u201cnuclear umbrella\u201d and refused to ratify the international treaty, which bans testing, producing, developing, acquiring and possessing nuclear explosive devices.<\/p>\n
In order for the Japanese economy to lead growth, green and digital will have to be hand in hand<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cI believe that Japan, the only country to suffer atomic bombings, should be among the first to ratify the treaty,\u201d Archbishop Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki and president of the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of Japan asserted in a statement on July 15.<\/p>\n
The archbishop observed that if non-nuclear countries ratify the treaty the nuclear powers \u201cwill feel pressured to ratify it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though a few countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Laos on the continent are signatories and parties to the treaty, Asians as a whole are looking forward to the predictable political developments in Japan by this month-end.<\/p>\n
Suga\u2019s trip to Indonesia and Vietnam helped to build ties with strategic Southeast Asian partners. The Japan-European Union cooperation saw considerable growth, with Suga meeting EU leaders in May via a virtual summit.<\/p>\n
Domestically, “Suganomics”\u00a0followed the framework laid by “Abenomics”\u00a0to ensure a recovery for Japan\u2019s dwindling economy. By February this year, Japan\u2019s economy had posted 12 percent growth from the fourth quarter of 2020, helping the nation of 126 million people tide over its worst recession in the post-war period.<\/p>\n
Suga took special care to spearhead the green energy and digital expansion of the Japanese economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order for the Japanese economy to lead growth, green and digital will have to be hand in hand. After I became prime minister, I decided on the target of going carbon neutral by 2050. Global warming measures should not be a constraint on economic activity,\u201d Suga told US-based Newsweek in an interview on Aug. 11.<\/p>\n
Taro Kono, who served as foreign and defense minister, said he was consulting allies before entering the poll fray<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Since the Second World War, only five leaders have completed five years or longer in office in Japan. Suga came to office to devote himself to arrest the spread of the pandemic. But in the end, the pandemic claimed him as another victim.<\/p>\n
The race to find a successor for Suga on Sept. 29 is relatively open so far.<\/p>\n
Fumio Kishida, the former foreign minister, is the only declared candidate, while the name of former communications minister, SanaeTakaichi, the lone female member in the previous Abe government, has evinced interest.<\/p>\n
Taro Kono, who served as foreign and defense minister, said he was consulting allies before entering the poll fray. A graduate of Georgetown University, the 58-year-old is a rarity in Japanese politics, which is lorded over by elderly men.<\/p>\n
Kano, the outspoken cabinet minister in charge of vaccinations, has the most popular support, according to Japanese media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe the LDP can anoint a successor to Suga who can lead the Asian rally for a nuclear-free world.<\/p>\n