52 Facts About Yoshihide Suga

Yoshihide Suga is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2020 to 2021.

Yoshihide Suga had served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe from 2012 to 2020.

Shortly after graduating with a Bachelor of Laws, Yoshihide Suga became an aide to Representative Hikosaburo Okonogi in 1975, before entering politics himself when he was elected to the Yokohama Municipal Assembly in 1987.

Yoshihide Suga left the Cabinet a year later, but after the LDP won the 2012 election, Yoshihide Suga was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary, a role he would hold throughout Abe's second term as Prime Minister.

In September 2020, after Abe announced that he would resign due to health concerns, Yoshihide Suga declared his candidacy in the subsequent LDP leadership election.

Yoshihide Suga's premiership focused primarily on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, including overseeing the rollout of vaccines in the country.

Yoshihide Suga was born to a family of strawberry farmers in Ogachi, a rural area in Akita Prefecture, and moved to Tokyo after graduation from Yuzawa High School.

Yoshihide Suga attended night school to earn a Bachelor of Laws from Hosei University in 1973.

Yoshihide Suga chose Hosei "because it was the cheapest option available" and he "worked in a cardboard factory in Tokyo to pay his tuition".

Yoshihide Suga resigned from this position in October 1986 to pursue his own career in politics.

Yoshihide Suga was elected to the Yokohama City Council in April 1987, campaigning door-to-door on foot, visiting as many as 30,000 houses and wearing through six pairs of shoes.

Yoshihide Suga pioneered the practice of giving campaign speeches in front of busy train stations, which is common among Japanese political candidates.

Yoshihide Suga was elected to the Diet of Japan in the 1996 general election, representing the Kanagawa 2nd district.

Yoshihide Suga was re-elected in the 2000 general election, 2003 general election, and 2005 general election.

Yoshihide Suga was appointed Senior Vice Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications in November 2005 under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Yoshihide Suga was promoted to Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and Minister for Privatization of the Postal Services in the first Shinzo Abe cabinet in September 2006, and added the portfolio of Minister of State for Decentralization Reform in December 2006.

Yoshihide Suga was instrumental in the development of Japan's "hometown donation" system, which allowed taxpayers to obtain deductions by donating money to local governments.

Yoshihide Suga was replaced by Hiroya Masuda in a cabinet reshuffle in August 2007.

Yoshihide Suga's "street-corner" campaigning style was credited with holding his seat in the 2009 general election, when many other LDP lawmakers lost their seats amid a surge in support for the Democratic Party of Japan.

Yoshihide Suga remained close to Shinzo Abe during the late 2000s and early 2010s, and urged Abe to run for the LDP presidency in 2012.

Unlike many of Abe's other allies, Yoshihide Suga pushed Abe to focus on the economy rather than Abe's long-standing ambition to revise Article 9 of the Constitution, which prohibits Japan from using a military as means of settling international disputes.

Yoshihide Suga is by far the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving his post for a total of 2,820 days; the second longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, served for a total of 1,289 days, less than half as long as Yoshihide Suga.

Yoshihide Suga had a key role in the government's initiatives to attract tourists and foreign workers and reduce mobile telephone rates.

Yoshihide Suga formed a team to reexamine the lead-up to the Kono Statement of 1993 but the group was after disbanded without ever reaching a consensus.

Yoshihide Suga was affiliated with the openly nationalist organisation Nippon Kaigi.

Under Abe, Yoshihide Suga overcame party resistance to implement a visa program that opened the doors for unskilled foreign workers, a shift from the previous policy, which centered on internship programs that often confined foreign workers to low-paying jobs.

Yoshihide Suga was supportive of the aggressive measures by the Bank of Japan to counter deflation.

Yoshihide Suga continued to hold his seat in the 2014 general election and 2017 general election.

Yoshihide Suga gained domestic and international fame when he announced the name of the new imperial era, Reiwa, on 1 April 2019, earning him the nickname "Uncle Reiwa".

Yoshihide Suga was sent to Washington in May 2019 for a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials, fueling speculation that he was being groomed to serve as Abe's successor.

Yoshihide Suga remained politically active during this time, coordinating support for the LDP candidate in the 2019 Hokkaido gubernatorial election, a role typically reserved for top LDP officials.

Yoshihide Suga served as a key Abe deputy during the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Yoshihide Suga criticized the structure of the Japanese bureaucracy, with deep divisions between ministries, as stalling coordination to stop the spread of the virus.

Yoshihide Suga was elected to the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party on 14 September 2020, with 377 votes out of a total of 534.

Yoshihide Suga reiterated his past interest in consolidating regional banks and lowering mobile phone charges in Japan.

Yoshihide Suga vowed to continue the economic policies of his predecessor, known as Abenomics, and to continue the path of Shinzo Abe in terms of foreign policy, making his "top priority" the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.

At the first press conference as the Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga officially stated that his premiership will focus first on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second on protecting employment and ensuring businesses in savior economic conditions, the third on continuing the Abenomics for economic revival, and the fourth on digital transformation and the review of supply chains.

In October 2020, Yoshihide Suga made his first trips abroad to Vietnam and Indonesia, with analysts saying that he chose those two countries amid the growing tensions between one of its closest allies, the United States, and China.

Yoshihide Suga vowed to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries and signed an agreement allowing his government to export defense equipment and technology to Vietnam.

Yoshihide Suga has committed to stronger ties with US President Joe Biden to discuss the US-Japan security alliance, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.

In particular, Yoshihide Suga is considering attending a global climate summit proposed by Biden in a push to bring nations in line with Japan's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Yoshihide Suga flew to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden in April 2021.

Yoshihide Suga was the first foreign leader to visit Biden at the White House.

Yoshihide Suga has vowed to fight Chinese influence in the Pacific region.

Yoshihide Suga pledged help to Tuvalu and other Pacific nations in the fight against climate change.

Yoshihide Suga implemented the GoTo stimulus program, which provides steep discounts for domestic travel in response to the economic consequences of the pandemic.

Yoshihide Suga has received criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January 2021, Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in the Greater Tokyo Area and the three surrounding prefectures, which was Japan's first such declaration since April 2020.

The drop in approval for Yoshihide Suga's cabinet proved the largest since October 2010, following the Senkaku boat collision incident.

On 3 September 2021, Yoshihide Suga announced that he would not seek re-election as the head of its governing party.

Yoshihide Suga has a daily fitness routine that includes doing 100 situps and 40 minutes of walking each morning, and 100 situps each night.

Yoshihide Suga is known as a voracious reader, and is known for reading all major newspapers daily despite his busy schedule.