Analysts say Suga, the top government spokesman, is all but assured of getting the role, and by default, becoming Japan’s next prime minister. TOKYO -- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will zero in on green and digital technology under new economic plans as the nation tries to balance spurring growth and containing the coronavirus outbreak. As Suga’s popularity has slumped, Kono was voted the most suitable person to be the next prime minister in a Mainichi poll on Jan. 16. An Upper House steering committee petitioned Suga's office to provide more thorough responses during future debates, according to the Mainichi and Asahi newspapers. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivers a policy speech during an ordinary Diet session at the upper house of parliament in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Suga is standing by the government's commitment to host the Summer Games despite a report in The Times last week saying officials in Tokyo had abandoned hope of holding the event this year. In a written statement, Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga promised that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympics games would be held this summer regardless of the pandemic.Suga described the games as being “a symbol of world unity,” and promised that this year’s games would be “safe and secure.” (RELATED: REPORT: Russia Can’t Use Its Name, Anthem Or Flag At The Next 2 Olympics) Opinion polls show the public is strongly against holding the Games amid the pandemic. TOKYO - Is the writing already on the wall for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga after only four months in office? Abe, the scion of a political dynasty, was groomed for office from a young age. Now set to open July 23, the Tokyo Games were postponed 10 months ago at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and … Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, sits during a meeting with Vietnam's National Assembly's Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monhday, Oct. 19, 2020. This service is not intended for persons residing in the EU. Suga said that despite the fall in cases in Tokyo the government was in no rush to lift the state of emergency. Also Read - Yoshihide Suga Elected Japan’s New Prime Minister Succeeding Shinzo Abe, ... For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. He has a long political history and was previously the Chief Cabinet Secretary under Abe. It took months to fully distribute a one-time cash handout meant to tide households over last spring, while the distribution of two face masks to all households met with widespread derision due to the time and money involved. Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the government would not end the emergency even if cases in Tokyo dropped below 500 a day. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, suffering a support slide over his virus management, set off fresh criticism for flouting government … It looks like the email address you entered is not valid. Sport Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga vows to press ahead with Olympics 7:28pm, Jan 18, 2021 Updated: 7:29pm, Jan 18 Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attends parliament in … Yoshihito Niki, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Showa University Hospital, agreed the government should have halted the campaign earlier. Yoshihide Suga. TOKYO -- Yoshihide Suga's day begins by reading all major newspapers and then doing 100 situps. Have a confidential tip for our reporters? He assumed the charge on 16 September 2016, after former Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, resigned on health grounds. meREWARDS lets you get coupon deals, and earn cashback when you complete surveys, dine, travel and shop with our partners. This is a story from the archives, published in the Jan. 27, 2019, edition of The Nikkei. He suggested he could enlist the help of the private logistics sector, and didn’t deny he might seek to involve the Self-Defense Forces or volunteers. Support for Suga's cabinet dropped to 33 per cent from 39 per cent last month, with disapproval rising 10 points to 45 per cent, according to a poll published by the Asahi newspaper on Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivers a policy speech at the opening of the Lower House parliamentary session in Tokyo, Japan, Jan 18, … Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga delivers a policy speech during an ordinary Diet session at the upper house of parliament in Tokyo, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Most Japanese people either think they will … GameStop’s Volatile Rally Smashes Wall Street Price Targets, Merck Shuts Down Covid Vaccine Program After Lackluster Data, GameStop Short-Sellers Reload Bets After $6 Billion Loss, It Seems Money Does Buy Happiness After All, Tech Leads Stock Gains Ahead of Megacap Earnings: Markets Wrap. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) In a speech opening a new Parliament session, Suga said his government would revise laws to make anti-virus measures enforceable with penalties and compensation. The outspoken reformer named by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to lead a massive vaccine rollout pledged to work quickly on inoculations as the country nears approval of Pfizer Inc.’s shot for the coronavirus. "Experts indicate that it is necessary to look at the situation a little more to determine that it is a decreasing trend," he told parliament. Yoshihide Suga Becomes Japan's Prime Minister, Pledging To Follow Abe's Course The former chief Cabinet secretary and government spokesman was sworn in … "To get over it with an abstract, really short answer is the same as rejecting to explain it to the people," Mainichi quoted opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Tetsuro Fukuyama as saying last week. FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2020, file photo, streaks of lights from cars pass through a business district in Tokyo. Suga is struggling to halt a steady decline in support for his four-month-old government even after launching a raft of measures to contain a third wave of coronavirus infections with the Olympics due to begin on Jul 23. Kono has in the past publicly stated his desire to hold the top job. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp's partners. The government says its decision to stick with the domestic tourism campaign was appropriate based on infection data at the time. "There are no strong candidates to replace him. TOKYO -- Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new head of Japan’s ruling party on Monday, all but assuring that he will become the country's new prime minister when a … Nihon University political science professor Tomoaki Iwai said Suga was "not a great communicator" but his leadership was not currently in doubt. The reform drive has become one of Suga’s signature issues, with Kono helping to lead a high-profile effort to scrap traditions such as stamping paper documents and widespread use of fax machines to boost efficiency in the public sector. Critics also say Suga took too long to pause a domestic tourism campaign that some experts have blamed for contributing to the spread of the virus beyond the initial hotspots in the Tokyo region. Osaka prefecture also reported the lowest number of new cases since that date. Japan aims to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles in about 15 years, the government said Friday, Dec. 25, 2020, in a plan to achieve Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s ambitious pledge to go carbon free by 2050 and generate nearly $2 trillion growth in green business and investment. Concern growing over new variant first identified in the U.K. Japan stepping up vaccine process as Suga’s popularity slumps. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. plans to start local clinical trials of Novavax Inc.’s candidate on Feb. 20, according to a regulatory filing, while the Japanese drugmaker is also set to start trials for Moderna Inc.’s shot this week. Infection data released over the weekend indicated that Japan's third, and most deadly, wave of COVID-19 infections was peaking. Pfizer to Deliver U.S. Mediacorp Pte Ltd. All rights reserved. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed in a speech to parliament to overcome the latest wave of coronavirus infections and laid out environmental and … Kono, named to the vaccine post late Monday, has been seen as a potential rival to Suga as premier. Suga currently serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party. Taro Kono, a former defense minister, told a news conference Tuesday he will do everything he can to get as many people as possible inoculated when Japan looks to start vaccinations in late February. Yoshihide Suga has cultivated an image as a self-made man -- his motto is 'Where there's a will, there's a way.' Chances are the current government will drag on despite very weak public support, which would be quite tragic," he said. Tokyo recorded 986 new cases on Sunday, falling below 1,000 for the first time since Jan. 12. The countdown clock for the postponed Tokyo Olympics hit 200 days to go on Monday. Tick-Tock-Tick. Japan will be one of the slowest leading economies to start inoculations and has taken a more cautious approach than the likes of the U.S. and the U.K., which have already begun vaccinations. Support for Yoshihide Suga plunges as his travel policy is blamed in part for rise in infections Justin McCurry in Tokyo Yoshihide Suga’s honeymoon period as … Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said last week he hoped Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine would be approved in mid-February, making it the first in the country. The outspoken reformer named by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to lead a massive vaccine rollout pledged to work quickly on inoculations … The Asahi poll came after opposition lawmakers criticised the brevity of Suga's answers to questions on the government's response to the COVID-19 crisis and the Olympics during a parliamentary debate on Thursday. Concern is also growing over the new variant first identified in the U.K., with Japan’s Health Ministry saying Tuesday community transmission of the strain may now be ongoing in the country after finding the mutation for the first time among people with no recent travel history. Opposition lawmakers were also increasingly frustrated with Suga's taciturn leadership style, demanding he provide detailed answers to questions about the COVID-19 crisis and the Tokyo Olympics set to start in less than six months. READ: Caught off-guard by scant testing, Japan battered by COVID-19 winter, READ: Japan stands firm on Tokyo Olympics schedule, denies report of cancellation, BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments. Analysts seem to think so. Japan has had a total of 365,723 cases of the novel coronavirus and 5,120 deaths, NHK reported. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Sunday congratulated Democrat Joe Biden on his election as the next U.S. president, expressing a desire to bolster bilateral ties. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said holding the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer would be a sign of "victory against the coronavirus." The record 5.34 trillion yen ($51.7 billion) defense budget planned for fiscal 2021 is the first under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and is a 1.1% increase over the current year’s budget. Japan virus outbreaks, scandals sap public support for Suga. Trouble-free rollouts of such programs in Asian neighbors such as South Korea and Singapore have clouded the government’s response. TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday that his government is working on the final details of a plan to release massive amounts of radioactive water being stored at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, a decision that has been delayed by protests. Suga enjoyed some of the highest approval ratings on record for a new prime minister in September, when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party installed him as its … Yoshihide Suga has been elected Japan's new Prime Minister following a vote in the country's Parliament on Wednesday, confirming the former cardboard factory worker and … Yoshihide Suga is the current Prime Minister of Japan. But Japan has also had vastly fewer deaths from Covid-19 than many other developed nations, and had about the same number of recorded infections in the past year than the U.S. has tallied on certain days in January. Yoshihide Suga formally announcing his bid. When Suga became prime minister in September, he named Kono to an administrative reform post in his cabinet rather than one of the traditional high-profile jobs, initially raising suspicions he was trying to sideline a potential rival. Tokyo: A surge in coronavirus cases in Japan has dealt a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s once strong public support, raising the risk he gets replaced by the ruling party ahead of an election that must be held by October. Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram. — With assistance by Isabel Reynolds, and Lisa Du. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says stable currency moves are 'extremely important' Published Thu, Nov 5 2020 10:12 PM EST Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter … Nationwide the count was 3,990, below 4,000 for the first time since Jan 4, public broadcaster NHK said. Logistical challenges have bedeviled Japan’s government throughout the pandemic. His background is in sharp contrast to the man he will succeed as prime minister in an extraordinary Diet session on Wednesday. The poll conducted by telephone on the weekend showed 80 per cent of respondents thought the government was too slow to declare a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus outbreak which has swept the country since December. TOKYO (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach and local organizers are pushing back against reports that the postponed Tokyo Olympics will be canceled. Vaccine Doses Faster Than Expected: CEO, U.S. States Ease Covid Restrictions as Variants Take Hold, EU Vaccine Spat Worsens; France Wants Second Doses: Virus Update, France Won’t Delay Second Covid Vaccine Dose, Citing Risks From New Variants. Kono is facing a public more skeptical of vaccines than in many nations and is charged with leading a campaign set to be a defining moment for Suga, whose support has fallen hard due to what many see as mistakes in virus management. TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga faced renewed pressure on Monday (Jan 25) over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with a new opinion poll showing many believed the government was too slow to respond to the latest wave of infections. Copyright© Mediacorp 2021. Kono said on a BS-TBS TV show before the news conference that he would be responsible for coordinating among various ministries and 1,700 local authorities that will ultimately administer the doses. "It is clear that was problematic, not just because it may have contributed to rise in case numbers by people travelling around the country, but also by giving young people an impression that they could lower their guard," he said. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Government would not end the emergency even if cases in Tokyo the government was in rush... Post late Monday, has been seen as a potential rival to Suga as premier doubt! 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