Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will not seek re-election as party leader

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on September 3, 2021, that he will not run in the upcoming leadership race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The decision throws the election wide open, with Suga serving just one year in office. Since taking over from Shinzo Abe, who resigned in September 2020, Suga’s approval ratings have been slipping, plummeting to below 30 per cent. Suga said he wants to focus on dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic during the remainder of his tenure.

Source: Reuters