Results of a Kyodo News poll released on Sunday showed that Japanese Administrative Reform Minister Taro Kono, who also oversees the country’s COVID-19 vaccination programme, is the public’s top pick to succeed Prime Minister (PM) Yoshihide Suga. Suga is likely to resign from office later this month.
Kono, an outspoken lawmaker with an active social media presence, won the support of 31.9% of respondents in the nationwide telephone survey conducted on Saturday and Sunday. The top candidate beat former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who came in second with 26.6%, and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who came in third with 18.8%.
While all three candidates are among the possible contenders in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) September 29 election which will decide the country’s next prime minister, another survey, by Yomiuri Shimbun, echoed the Kyodo poll results, cementing Kono’s popularity. The survey published on Monday showed that 23% of respondents chose Kono as the most suitable person to take over Suga’s coveted job.
A former foreign and defence minister, Kono, 58, is a graduate of Georgetown University. His fluency in English and an active social media presence in two languages has allowed him to build on his popularity among young voters, with 2.3 million followers on his Japanese page alone.
The party election is being held after current PM Suga unexpectedly announced on Friday that he would not run for re-election as head of the ruling LDP. Since the party president automatically becomes PM because of the LDP’s majority in the parliament, Suga’s decision to not contest has left top party leaders scrambling for support.
“Working on COVID countermeasures and election activities requires a tremendous amount of energy, so I decided that I cannot work on both and should choose one of them,” Suga told reporters in Tokyo. “My mission as a Prime Minister is to protect the life and livelihood of people, so I’d like to concentrate on this,” he added.
Suga received intense public backlash and his approval ratings nosedived after his government decided to carry on with hosting the delayed 2020 Olympics in July this year amid surging COVID-19 infections and a slow vaccine rollout. The leader also lost the support of the LDP, which elected him as leader last September with about 70% votes. Moreover, the approval rating of Suga’s cabinet fell to a record low of 30.1% in the latest survey, a drop of 1.7% from the last opinion poll held in mid-August.
Japanese COVID-19 Minister Kono Touted as New PM After Suga’s Unexpected Resignation
Japan’s minister in charge of COVID-19, Taro Kono, has received overwhelming public support to become the new PM after PM Yoshihide Suga unexpectedly announced on Friday that he was stepping down.
September 6, 2021
Taro Kano and Yoshihide Suga. SOURCE: EPA-EFE, REUTERS