Suga Announces Bid For LDP Leadership, PM Position

As has been widely expected since the announcement of PM Shinzo Abe's resignation, his right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has officially announced his bid for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, and therefore the position of prime minister, this morning.

• Suga (71), is seen as the establishment favourite for the position, and would be viewed as the continuity candidate following Abe, with a commitment to the continuation of so-called 'Abenomics', as well as maintaining Japan's more assertive stance on the regional and global stage in terms of foreign policy.
• There had been two other frontrunners alongside Suga: former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba (63) and former foreign secretary Fumio Kishida (63), but poor public opinion polling for Kishida seems to have made party establishment figures swing their support behind Suga, who has the support of some of the largest factions within the LDP grouping in the National Diet.
• Ishiba is seen as having little support within the parliamentary party, despite his high standing among grassroots LDP members and the general public. He was a fierce critic of PM Abe during his time in office, favouring an improvement of relations with South Korea and other south east Asian nations, while also saying that the ultra-loose monetary policy and stimulus packages are not sustainable, but should not be changed in the short-term.