TOKYO – Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who stepped down in 2021 amid criticism over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, will not run in the next lower house election and intends to retire from politics, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.
Serving roughly one year as prime minister, his tenure coincided with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics held in 2021. The 77-year-old also served as chief Cabinet secretary under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for about seven years and eight months, making him the longest-serving top government spokesman.
The son of a strawberry farmer in Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan, Suga served as a secretary to a lower house lawmaker and as a Yokohama city assembly member before winning a House of Representatives seat in 1996.
As premier from September 2020 to October 2021, he promoted expanding insurance coverage to include infertility treatments.
The next general election is likely to be held on Feb. 8, with official campaigning starting from Jan. 27, according to senior members of the ruling parties.
AloJapan.com