Suga To Push Back Snap Election Due To COVID-19: Nikkei

Nikkei Asia reporting that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is unlikely to call a snap general election in the early stages of 2021, as the country battles against a third wave of COVID-19 infections.

• PM Suga, in office since September 2020, was initially believed to have favoured a snap election early in 2021 to solidify his position in office and take advantage of strong approval ratings for him and his Cabinet (currently around the 60% mark). The opening of the Diet session in January 2021 was viewed by observers as a potential time to call the snap poll.
• However, Nikkei states that this has become less likely. The full process of dissolving the Diet session, campaigning and holding the election takes around a month. Should another wave of COVID-19 infections be in full swing at this time it could damage Suga's popularity.
• Nikkei states that if the election isn't called in January, "...only three opportunities would remain for him to do so by October. The earliest would be the end of the ordinary Diet session, which is usually sometime in June. Some policymakers in the ruling parties say the dissolution should come after the Olympic and Paralympic Games conclude in September in the hope that voters would reward the government's successful handling of the events postponed from last year due to the pandemic...The third chance would come just before Oct. 21 when the current House of Representatives term expires. "
• Very little chance of Suga's Liberal Democratic Party losing power, but should the election not deliver a particularly strong mandate for the LDP it could damage Suga's credibility as a strong leader at the start of his first full term.