PHIL NOBLE
With a majority of the seats of its Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its smaller coalition partner Komeito, the relevant lower house of parliament voted against the opposition’s vote on Tuesday. Suga criticizes this for his handling of the corona pandemic and his unwavering adherence to the Olympic Games. The fragmented opposition camp wanted to continue the debate, but the government rejected their demand for an extension of the current parliamentary session as unnecessary.
Suga, whose term of office as party and therefore head of government ends on September 30th, has to schedule general elections by October 21st at the latest. Observers assume that he should wait until after the Olympic Games. However, given the fragmentation and weakness of the opposition camp and the widespread disenchantment with politics, a change of power is unlikely. Many still see no alternative to the governing parties.
According to political observers, Suga hopes that the Olympic Games will be successful despite the pandemic and that the mood among the people will still turn. This could give him tailwind for the election as LDP party leader and the upcoming parliamentary elections.
At the beginning of his tenure, Suga enjoyed polls of around 70 percent. But a series of scandals about nepotism by members of his party as well as Suga’s handling of the corona pandemic and the vaccination process, which only got going late, caused his poll numbers to drop sharply. His sticking to the Olympic Games in Tokyo despite the pandemic is also causing criticism. In several polls, a majority of the Japanese had spoken out in favor of postponing the games again or canceling them altogether.