At an extraordinary board meeting of the LDP, Prime Minister Suga announced that he would not run for the LDP presidential election this month.
As a result, it seems that he intends to resign as Prime Minister as his term as President expires at the end of this month.
Looking back on the past year since Prime Minister Suga took office.
Elected as the 99th Prime Minister
Prime Minister Suga won the LDP presidential election in September last year, competing for the successor to the resigned Prime Minister Abe, and was elected the 99th Prime Minister.
The Suga Cabinet has set out to work for the people, have a sense of speed, and put it into practice.
According to the NHK opinion poll immediately after the Cabinet was established, the approval rating started at a high level of 62%.
Inauguration of Digital Agency
We worked on reducing mobile phone charges and digitizing administrative procedures, and on September 1, we launched the Digital Agency.
He also stated that he would "zero greenhouse gas emissions as a whole by 2050" toward the realization of a carbon-free society.
Meeting with President Biden
Visited the United States in April.
Following President Biden's meeting as the first foreign leader to meet face-to-face and discussing policies toward China, he attended the G7 Summit in the United Kingdom in June.
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications entertainment problem
On the other hand, it was discovered one after another that executives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications were receiving entertainment from the eldest son of Prime Minister Suga, who works for a satellite broadcasting-related company.
Executives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have been punished.
Responding to the new corona from beginning to end
The spread of the new coronavirus did not stop, and we had to deal with it from beginning to end.
Measures to stimulate demand for tourism "Go To Travel" is, in last December because it does not stand the prospect to infection convergence, has been forced to suspend the country all at once.
Since entering this year, we have issued emergency declarations in various places, and as an infection control measure, we have stopped offering alcohol and karaoke at restaurants and promoted shortened business hours.
Work on vaccination
We are also working on vaccination, and the Minister of State for Regulatory Reform Kono has been appointed as the general coordinator.
According to the government, by the end of August, more than 58.5 million people had completed the second vaccination, accounting for 46% of the total population of the country.
Expanding the area covered by the repeated "state of emergency" and extending the period
The "state of emergency" has also been repeatedly expanded and extended in the target area.
In Tokyo, it has been pointed out that the days when no declarations have been made since the beginning of this year are less than a month, and the effects of countermeasures are diminishing due to so-called "self-restraint fatigue" and "familiarity with declarations".
The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which were postponed for one year, were closed to most venues in consideration of the state of emergency to Tokyo.
A tough battle in national by-elections and local elections
The election forced a tough battle.
Opposition candidates won the three elections held in April, and the Liberal Democratic Party lost all, including the election that did not support the candidates.
In the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in July, the Liberal Democratic Party became the first party, but it did not reach the majority targeted by the Komeito Party, and it remained at 33 seats, the second lowest in the past.
Furthermore, in the Mayor of Yokohama election held at the knees of Prime Minister Suga in late August, the shock spread by a large margin to Mayor Yamanaka, who was recommended by the Constitutional Democratic Party by Mr. Okonogi, the former chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, who supported him. ..
Cabinet approval rating continues to decline
The approval rating of the Cabinet continued to decline, almost in tandem with the infection status of the new coronavirus.
In the NHK poll in August, 29% of the respondents answered that they "supported" the Suga Cabinet, which was the lowest since the Cabinet was established.
Willingness to re-election in the LDP presidential election
And the LDP presidential election.
Prime Minister Suga repeatedly expressed his willingness to be re-elected, saying, "It is natural for me to run as president when the time comes."
While ministers and party leaders have expressed their support for the re-election of Prime Minister Suga one after another, some young mid-career lawmakers have said that "Prime Minister Suga cannot fight the House of Representatives election."
In the middle of this month, former political research chairman Kishida officially announced his candidacy.
In response, Prime Minister Suga expressed his intention to face the presidential election on the 6th of next week after taking steps to hire party officers, such as the change of secretary-general on the second floor.
Resigned in about a year after taking office
However, on the 3rd, Prime Minister Suga announced at an extraordinary board meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party that he would not run for the presidential election because he wanted to concentrate on measures against the new coronavirus.
Prime Minister Suga will resign in about a year after taking office.