Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s Prime Minister, Has Resigned.

Key Sentence:

• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has announced that he will no longer be running for party leader this month, signaling the end of his term.

Mr. Suga was appointed just a year ago after Shinzo Abe stepped down. The shocking news came when Mr. Suga dropped to a record low. Japan – which is still in a state of emergency – is currently battling its worst wave ever, Covid.

The country, which has recorded many than 1.5 million virus cases, is also experiencing slow vaccination. The dicide to host the Olympics this year despite the worsening pandemic also proved to be very unpopular. “At today’s board meeting, [Mr] Suga said he wanted to focus on action to fight the coronavirus and not run for a leadership election,” Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary-general Suga said, according to an AFP report.

“To be honest, he was shocked. It’s a shame.

Japanese stocks rose on the news as the Topix stock index hit its highest level in three decades after increasing 1.7%. Tokyo financial markets have won this week in hopes of a more robust government ahead of the ruling party’s race for leadership and parliamentary elections later this year.

The ruling LDP will hold elections on September 29 to elect its president. Yoshihide Suga: “Right hand” who became Prime Minister. Born to a family of strawberry farmers, the 72-year-old was first elected to the Yokohama City Council in 1987 and to the Japanese diet for the first time in 1996.

In 2005, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appointed him Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Communications. The following year, his successor, Shinzo Abe, promoted Koizumi to three cabinet positions, which he held until 2007.