Yoshihide Suga

Suga was elected to the Diet of Japan in the 1996 general election, representing the Kanagawa 2nd district. In his third year in the Diet, he shifted his support from Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to former LDP Secretary-General Seiroku Kajiyama, an unusual move for a junior legislator.[17][19] He was re-elected in the 2000 general election, 2003 general election, and 2005 general election.

He was appointed Senior Vice Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications in November 2005 under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He was promoted to Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and Minister for Privatization of the Postal Services in the first Shinzo Abe cabinet in September 2006, and added the portfolio of Minister of State for Decentralization Reform in December 2006.[15] He was instrumental in the development of Japan's "hometown donation" (ふるさと納税, furusato nōzei) system, which allowed taxpayers to obtain deductions by donating money to local governments.[11] He was replaced by Hiroya Masuda in a cabinet reshuffle in August 2007.[20]

His "street-corner" campaigning style was credited with holding his seat in the 2009 general election, when many other LDP lawmakers lost their seats amid a surge in support for the Democratic Party of Japan.[19]

In October 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the LDP Party of Organization and Campaign Headquarters. In September 2012, he was appointed Executive for Acting Secretary-General of the LDP.[15]

As a Diet member, Suga built a power base among legislators not affiliated with the party's factions, particularly a group of young first-generation lawmakers known as the "Ganesha group".[21]

Suga (right) shaking hands with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman in 2013

Suga (third from right) at the announcement of the Okinawa Consolidation Plan in 2013

Suga remained close to Shinzo Abe during the late 2000s and early 2010s, and urged Abe to run for the LDP presidency in 2012.[11] 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.[19]

Following Abe's victory in the 2012 general election, Suga was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary in the second Abe cabinet in December 2012. In September 2014, he was given the additional portfolio of Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the Bases in Okinawa.[15] Suga and Tarō Asō were the only members of the December 2012 cabinet who remained in the cabinet as of November 2019.[22] Suga is by far the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving his post for a total of 2,820 days; the second longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, served for a total of 1,289 days, less than half as long as Suga.[3]

As Chief Cabinet Secretary, Suga served as an aide and advisor to Abe, and took an active managerial role in the government. He had a key role in the government's initiatives to attract tourists and foreign workers and reduce mobile telephone rates.[13] He formed a team to reexamine the lead-up to the Kono Statement of 1993 but the group was soon after disbanded without ever reaching a consensus.[23] He was affiliated with the openly nationalist organisation Nippon Kaigi.[24] Under Abe, Suga overcame party resistance to implement a visa program that opened the doors for unskilled foreign workers, a shift from the previous policy, which centered on internship programs that often confined foreign workers to low-paying jobs.[25] He was also supportive of the aggressive measures by the Bank of Japan to counter deflation.[26] In 2015, he was criticized for publicly encouraging Japanese women to "contribute to their country by feeling like they want to have more children".[27] He continued to hold his seat in the 2014 general election and 2017 general election.[28][29]

Suga announcing the new Japanese era name "Reiwa" on 1 April 2019

Suga gained domestic and international fame when he announced the name of the new imperial era, Reiwa, on 1 April 2019, earning him the nickname "Uncle Reiwa" (Reiwa Ojisan).[30][31] While he had previously been a low-profile member of the government, this honor gave him an instant surge in name recognition and led more LDP lawmakers to view him as a viable candidate for party leadership.[11][22] He was sent to Washington in May 2019 for a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials, fueling speculation that he was being groomed to serve as Abe's successor.[12][13] Suga faced scrutiny later that year due to the resignations of Cabinet ministers Katsuyuki Kawai and Isshu Sugawara, both of whom had been close associates of Suga and were accused of campaign financing violations.[22] Suga also remained politically active during this time, coordinating support for the LDP candidate in the 2019 Hokkaido gubernatorial election, a role typically reserved for top LDP officials.[13] Suga served as a key Abe deputy during the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He criticized the structure of the Japanese bureaucracy, with deep divisions between ministries, as stalling coordination to stop the spread of the virus.[32]

Suga with US President Joe Biden in April 2021

In October 2020, Suga made his first trips abroad to Vietnam and Indonesia,[42] with analysts saying that he chose those two countries amid the growing tensions between one of its closest allies, the United States, and China.[43] Suga also vowed to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries and signed an agreement allowing his government to export defense equipment and technology to Vietnam.[44][45]

Suga has also committed to stronger ties with US President Joe Biden to discuss the US-Japan security alliance, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.[46] 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.[47] They have also agreed to work towards complete denuclearization of North Korea.[48] Suga flew to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden in April 2021. Suga was the first foreign leader to visit Biden at the White House.[49]

Suga has also vowed to fight Chinese influence in the Pacific region. In July 2021, he held a remote meeting with Pacific nations leaders and pledged 3 million COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to counter Chinese influence. The move was supported by the United States. Suga also pledged help to Tuvalu and other Pacific nations in the fight against climate change.[50]

In his 2021 New Year's address, Suga pledged to bring COVID-19 under control and to push forward with preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[51]

Suga implemented the GoTo stimulus program, which provides steep discounts for domestic travel in response to the economic consequences of the pandemic.[52][53] By stimulating demand for tourism, it was aimed at boosting regional economies and helping hotels and airlines.[54] However, it was suspended in December 2020 after criticism that it helped spread the virus and conflicted with the government's message for avoiding unnecessary travel.[52][55] This was after Suga denied considering a halt to the campaign to focus on improving the economy.[54]

Suga has received criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[54] His attendance at an expensive steak dinner for eight, which included several celebrities and politicians and had happened after his decision to suspend 'GoTo Travel', was deprecated by the public; 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.[54][56][57] Suga has subsequently apologized.[58]

In January 2021, Suga declared a state of emergency in the Greater Tokyo Area and the three surrounding prefectures, which was Japan's first such declaration since April 2020.[59] The emergency included restrictions on daily life, with remote work encouraged and residents being urged to avoid non-essential outings; however, schools remained open.[59] While the state of emergency carries no legal power, Suga has stated the government will consider amending the law to allow local authorities to penalize businesses that do not comply with official requests.[59] Suga also pledged to provide up to ¥1.8 million per month to each restaurant that complies with a request to shorten its operating hours.[59][60]

Suga's cabinet has seen fluctuating approval since Abe's resignation.[61] The cabinet's approval rating dropped from 74 percent in September 2020 to 42 percent in January 2021. Shigeru Omi, the COVID-19 task force chief, said that this was due to Suga's GoTo promotions. It has also been attributed to his rejection of scholars on a science advisory panel.[54] The drop in approval for Suga's cabinet proved the largest since October 2010, following the Senkaku boat collision incident.[62] Approval bounced from 38 percent in February to 42 percent in March 2021.[63] The cabinet's approval hit a record low in May 2021, hitting 33 percent after having again dropped to 40 percent the previous month.[64] Amidst rising coronavirus cases in the community in the Greater Tokyo area, Suga's approval rating dwindled to a record lows of 31% in July and 28% in August while hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games during a pandemic.[65] In an election widely seen as a referendum on the ruling LDP's Coronavirus response, the candidate that Suga endorsed lost the Yokohama mayoral race in August by a considerable margin putting considerable pressure on Suga's reelection chances in the upcoming national election, as an MP representing Kanagawa.[66]

On 3 September 2021, Suga announced that he would not seek re-election as the head of its governing party.[67] This announcement followed his approval ratings being at an all-time low (below 30% in recent polls) as the nation struggled with its worst wave of COVID-19 infections ahead of the general election that year.[68] His resignation would become effective on 30 September 2021, a day after the Liberal Democratic leadership election.[61] Suga's announcement came at a press conference where a LDP leadership reshuffle was to be announced; although Suga had reportedly been fully intent on running as of the day before, both Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso refused to cooperate further with Suga's leadership in conversations on the evening of the 2nd, leading to Suga's surprise announcement the next morning.[69]

On 29 September 2021, the LDP elected former foreign minister Fumio Kishida as new leader of the party and virtually making the prime minister-designate of Japan.[70][71] Kishida replaced Suga on 4 October 2021.[72]