Yoshihide Suga was elected Prime Minister of Japan. The list of the
new cabinet is announced. The
list of
new cabinets is announced, and 8 veteran Abe ministers will remain in office; Yoshihide Suga was elected for the first time in the press conference to explain that the primary task is to prevent and control the new crown epidemic
On the afternoon of September 16, local time, Japan convened an interim parliament to elect the president of the Liberal Democratic Party Yoshihide Suga as the new prime minister of Japan.
Yoshihide Suga officially became the 99th Prime Minister of Japan. He will continue to complete the remaining prime minister term of former Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe until September 2021.
At about 5 pm local time on August 28, Shinzo Abe announced his resignation as Prime Minister of Japan at a press conference.
The picture shows the scene of the press conference.
On the morning of the same day, Shinzo Abe led the entire cabinet to resign, officially ending his second appointment as prime minister, which lasted 7 years and 8 months.
As of September 16, Shinzo Abe has served as prime minister for 3188 days, making him the prime minister with the longest term in Japanese history.
The Beijing News reported on the afternoon of September 16, Japan convened an interim parliament, and the Senate and House of Representatives held elections for the prime minister by name.
The new president of the Liberal Democratic Party, Yoshihide Suga, received 314 votes out of 465 votes in the House of Representatives and 142 votes out of 245 votes in the Senate, and was successfully elected as the 99th Prime Minister of Japan.
Suga Yoshihide receives support from the Senate and the House of Representatives
After accepting the nomination of both houses of Congress, the new prime minister went to the office of the prime minister’s residence to set up a cabinet headquarters, and the Chief Cabinet Secretary announced the list of new cabinets.
After that, the cabinet went to the Imperial Palace of Japan to participate in the Prime Minister’s appointment ceremony and the cabinet certification ceremony hosted by the Emperor, and the new cabinet was officially launched.
Yoshihide Suga, 71, previously served as Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Abe Cabinet for nearly eight years and is considered Abe's "right man".
On the evening of September 16, Yoshihide Suga held the first press conference after taking office as prime minister to expound the domestic and foreign policy propositions of his new cabinet.
Yoshihide Suga said that the primary task of the new government is to prevent and control the new crown epidemic, and economic recovery is also an important challenge.
He promised to continue Abenomics and promote the steady development of the Japanese economy.
Diplomatically, Yoshihide Suga said that the Japan-US alliance is still the cornerstone of diplomatic strategy, and once again expressed his determination to resolve the issue of North Korea's kidnapping of hostages.
5 people entered the cabinet for the first time
According to Japanese media reports, on the afternoon of September 16, Japan's new Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato announced the list of the new cabinet.
In addition to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the new cabinet has a total of 20 cabinet ministers, of which 8 Abe cabinet ministers remain in their original positions, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Taro Aso, Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Mogi, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hagiuda Koichi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshi Kajiyama , Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Akabane Kazuka, Minister of Environment Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of Economic Regeneration in charge of the COVID-19 response, Minoru Nishimura, and Minister of Olympic Games Hashimoto Seiko.
Three Abe cabinet ministers were re-appointed to other positions, including Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Katohnobu Kato as Chief Cabinet Secretary, National Public Security Chairman Ryota Takeda as Minister of General Affairs, and Defense Minister Taro Kono as Minister of Administrative Reform.
Five people joined the cabinet for the first time, namely, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Kotaro Nogami, Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi, Minister of Reconstruction Katsuei Hirasawa, Minister of Local Creation Tetsushi Sakamoto, and Minister of World Expo Nobuharu Inoue.
It is worth noting that the new Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi is the younger brother of Shin Abe. He has served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Administrative Officer of the Minister of Defense.
■ Analysis
A general election at the end of this year remains to be seen
Kyodo News Agency of Japan pointed out that the most urgent task for Yoshihide Suga after becoming prime minister is to prevent and control the epidemic and to revive the shrinking economy affected by the epidemic.
Long-term challenges include aging issues and diplomatic relations with neighboring countries.
Wang Guangtao, an associate researcher at the Center for Japanese Studies at Fudan University, said that as Abe's successor, the challenges facing Suga Yoshihide are basically some of the tasks Abe left behind.
Among them, the first task is undoubtedly to control the epidemic.
Yoshihide Suga, after being selected as the president of the Democratic Party, had a meeting with Nazuo Yamaguchi, representative of the ruling coalition Komeito Party, and made it clear that the most important goal of the two parties' joint governance is to control the epidemic.
Because the epidemic is under control, other aspects such as economic recovery and hosting the Tokyo Olympics are possible.
Therefore, the prevention and control of the epidemic is undoubtedly the most critical.
In addition, Yoshihide Suga's term of office is only one year. If he wants to seek re-election, he must make achievements.
Domestically, it is fighting the epidemic, restoring the economy, and hosting the Olympic Games as scheduled. Externally, under the continuous pressure from the United States, how to maintain a good balance between major powers is also a major challenge.
On the issue of China, whether the high-level exchanges between the two countries can be resumed after the epidemic is over is a key issue affecting Sino-Japanese relations.
Earlier, many Japanese media pointed out that Yoshihide Suga might dissolve the parliament as soon as possible after taking office and hold a general election ahead of schedule.
However, Yoshihide Suga recently stated that it is necessary for experts to determine that the epidemic has been brought under control before considering this issue.
Wang Guangtao believes that whether Yoshihide Suga holds a general election ahead of schedule depends on two factors, the cabinet's approval rate and Japan's domestic economic indicators.
On the one hand, if the cabinet's support rate is not high, holding a general election at this time is very unfavorable for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
On the other hand, when a general election is announced in a state of economic downturn, voters' support for the ruling party will not be high.
Therefore, Yoshihide Suga needs to make some promises to benefit the people to gain popular support, and then dissolve the parliament at a suitable time for general elections, so that the Liberal Democratic Party’s seats can be maintained or increased, and he has political capital and political confidence.
Wang Guangtao pointed out that there is not much time left for Suga Yoshihide. Considering that the Olympic Games should be held next summer, it is more likely to hold a general election at the end of this year.
The new cabinet continues Abe policy
In an interview, Wang Guangtao said, "Yoshihide Suga's new cabinet list can be evaluated in four words-seeking change while maintaining stability."
"Stability" refers to the fact that some key positions retain the original cabinet members, which means that the relevant policies will not change much, and the Abe policy will basically continue.
For example, the most important issues involved in internal affairs are the epidemic and the economy, while the positions of Finance Minister Taro Aso and Minister of Economic Rebirth Yasumi Nishimura remain unchanged; in terms of foreign affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi also continues to serve.
In addition, the appointment and removal of personnel within the Liberal Democratic Party also reflects Suga Yoshihide's attitude of seeking stability. The party's top party affairs and secretary-general are still held by Nikai Toshihiro.
"Change" means that Yoshihide Suga also wants to highlight some personal characteristics.
For example, he added the digital department and digital director, hoping to promote Japan's digital reform; in addition, he transferred the highly experienced Kono Taro to the minister of administrative reform, highlighting his determination to focus on promoting administrative reform.
■ Link
Abe: Call for understanding and support for the new cabinet
On the morning of September 16, local time, Shinzo Abe announced the resignation of all cabinet members.
Abe said, “Since I became prime minister, I have been doing my best to revitalize the economy and promote diplomacy to protect Japan’s interests. I am proud to be able to face various challenges with the people. I sincerely thank all those who support me.”
After that, Abe released a video in which he pointed out, "There are still many problems to be solved. But there are also many things worth challenging and already achieved."
He called on everyone to give understanding and support to the new cabinet.
Wang Xinsheng, professor of the Department of History at Peking University and president of the Chinese Society for the History of Sino-Japanese Relations, believes that Abe is a very capable politician, and his evaluation and polls after his resignation are very high.
During the nearly eight years that the second regime lasted, many achievements were left.
However, Abe also has regrets. As he said, the amendment to the constitution was not successful, the Japanese-Russian territorial dispute has not yet been resolved, and the issue of hostage-taking by North Korea is also pending.
Wang Xinsheng said, "Abe is an idealistic conservative politician, but he is also a realist. He will not become the prime minister who has been in office for the longest time just because he insists on principles."
He pointed out that Abe's greatest political legacy is that the Prime Minister's residence dominates the political process, forming a system design for a strong leader.
This may be beneficial for him to govern, but it may be difficult for the successor to control this system.
Beijing News reporter Xie Lian