Yoshihide Suga
 Yoshihide Suga    (politician) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 6 December 1948 Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Japanese | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Hosei University | ||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister of Japan from September 2020 to October 2021
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Yoshihide Suga was Prime Minister of Japan from September 2020 - October 2021.
He is leaving office in September 2021, interestingly only a few week after the suspension of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and a delay in the vaccine program. His successor Fumio Kishida will lead the party into the November 2021 Japanese general election.
Contents
Career
Yoshihide Suga was the chief cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012 to 2020 and minister for internal affairs and communications from 2006 to 2007.
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Suga remained close to Shinzo Abe during the late 2000s and early 2010s, and urged Abe to run for the LDP presidency in 2012.[1] Unlike many of Abe's other allies, Suga pushed Abe to focus on the economy rather than Abe's long-standing ambition to revise Article 9 of the Constitution, which prohibits Japan from using a military as means of settling international disputes.[2]
Covid-19 Lockdown
Suga attended an expensive steak dinner for eight, including several celebrities and politicians; all attendees were over 70, a high-risk age group for the virus. At the time, the government was advising people to avoid dining in groups of more than five.[3][4] Suga has subsequently apologized.[5]
Foreign relations
In October 2020, Suga made his first trips abroad to Vietnam and Indonesia, with analysts saying that he chose those two countries amid the growing tensions between one of its closest allies, the United States, and China.[6] Suga also vowed to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries and is expected to sign an agreement allowing his government to export defense equipment and technology to Vietnam.[7]
Suga has also committed to stronger ties with US President Joe Biden, with whom he has discussed the US-Japan security alliance, the coronavirus pandemic and global warming.[8] In particular, Suga is considering attending a global climate summit proposed by Biden in a push to bring nations in line with Japan's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. Suga has made previous environmental commitments, such as a ¥2 trillion fund to promote research into decarbonization technologies and the setting of specific goals at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in the UK in November 2021.[9]
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190703064632/https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/d00495/suga-yoshihide-japan%E2%80%99s-next-prime-minister.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20200903070539/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/How-Abe-s-right-hand-man-has-shaped-policy-in-Japan
- ↑ Japanese leader appears to flout virus guidelines as infections surge https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/17/asia/japan-suga-coronavirus-dinner-intl-hnk/index.html
- ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/01f0fb5c-4bea-42a4-89ab-0010f4e4071d%7Caccess-date=2021-01-08
- ↑ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/16/national/japan-suga-coronavirus-tokyo/%7C
- ↑ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/10/15/commentary/japan-commentary/yoshihide-suga-vietnam-indonesia-first-trip/ |access-date=17 October 2020 |
- ↑ https://thediplomat.com/2020/10/japans-suga-set-to-authorize-arms-sales-to-vietnam/
- ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-politics-suga-idUSKBN28W0F3
- ↑ https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/Suga-embarks-on-green-diplomacy-starting-with-US-climate-summit
