PM Suga Suffers Blow As Ally Defeated In Yokohama Mayoral Race

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga suffered a political blow over the weekend as his aide and former public safety chief Hachiro Okonogi was defeated in the Yokohama mayoral race. Suga and his Liberal Democratic Party had backed Okonogi, but the incumbent opposition-backed mayor, Takeharu Yamanaka, emerged victorious.

• The defeat comes as Suga confirms he will seek re-election as head of the LDP in September, ahead of the Japanese legislative elections due by 22 October. Given the dominance of the LDP over Japanese politics and the current weakness of the opposition parties, whoever emerges as LDP leader is very likely to become prime minister following the election.
• Suga is already struggling with record-low approval ratings, amidst an escalation in COVID-19 infections. However, the latest data from the capital Tokyo may provide some relief for the beleaguered PM. Gearoid Ready at Bloomberg tweets the latest data on the Japanese capital's COVID-19 infections:
  • "Tokyo coronavirus case count for today is 2,447. Previous two Mondays: 2,962, 2,884. 7-day average: 4,659.3. Serious cases +1 to 272. Cases in over-65s: 94 (3.8%). Newly reported deaths: 5"
  • "3 of the last 4 days now, numbers have fallen week on week. The pace of growth has certainly slowed, though too early to call the peak. Serious cases topping out probably represents capacity more than anything. Flattening out of calls to fever consultation hotline is encouraging.