Suga becomes New PM of Japan & way forward with ‘Suganomics’
By Divya Suresh
HIGHLIGHTS: 15th, Sep -30th, Sep.
· Yoshihide Suga becomes the PM of Japan, winning a landslide victory in Liberation Democratic Party’s presidential elections. He succeeds Shinzo Abe and promises to carry out his major policy initiatives.
· Amidst the pandemic situation and poor economy, Suga faces daunting challenges like issues with hostile North Korea, including relationship with assertive China, establishing a good relationship with the winner of the US presidential elections & what to do about the Tokyo Olympics.
· The prescriptive remedy for Japan’s economic growth as recommended by experts are: a broad range of structural reforms, productivity-enhancing labor-market and regulatory reforms.
· The future of Japan will depend on the course the new leader will take. Will Suga be the falcon leader or another short-term PM of Japan?
· Pandemic should be treated as a new opportunity to rebuild a sustainable economy that is environment friendly & employs green infrastructure. Will Japan play its cards right?
1. Who is Suga?
It is interesting to note the rise of Yoshihide Suga, who comes from a humble family background and has no political lineage, in contrast to his predecessors who were political elites. Suga strived hard to get graduated, worked a 9-5 job, went on to etch his own political career from being a winner at the city council elections, being a secretary for an LDP lawmaker, becoming a cabinet secretary, and finally succeeding Shinzo Abe to become Japan’s Prime minister.
This self-made man goes by the motto “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
Divya Suresh is an alumna of Takshahila Institution’s Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Programme.
The views expressed above are the author’s own and do not represent Takshashila Institution’s recommendations.
