Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he will not run for re-election as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP. The announcement effectively ends his run as prime minister just a year after it began. “I have decided not to run for the party leadership elections, as I would like to focus on coronavirus measures,” Suga told reporters at a Tokyo press conference. Suga became prime minister last September. He took over for Shinzo Abe, who stepped down for health reasons. The son of a farmer, Suga enjoyed public support ratings as high as 70 percent early in office. He was seen as a leader of common people, rather than of powerful political families like Abe. However, Suga’s political popularity sharply fell as he struggled to control the coronavirus pandemic. He came under strong criticism about his approach to the health crisis from the public and his own party. Much of the criticism has centered on his decision to host the Tokyo Olympics this summer even with widespread public opposition. He had hoped that a successful Olympics would increase his public support. Shortly after the Games began in late July, Japan saw its worst increase in coronavirus infections. Suga put in place states of emergency to slow the spread. But they have had little effect. Japan’s COVID infection rate continues to stay high. Although, its virus death rate remains relatively low compared to many other developed countries. A recent survey by public broadcaster NHK shows that 60 percent of Japanese people are unhappy with Suga’s response to the virus. Many are also unhappy with the country’s vaccine effort. Vaccination rates have only recently started to rise.
