Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will not contest in the next Lower House election, multiple Japanese media reported Friday, a development that would mark the end of the political career of the lawmaker who served as the top government spokesman for his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, for more than seven years.
The 77-year-old Suga told the Sankei Shimbun that he was thinking about not running in another election due to health reasons. Jiji Press also reported that multiple sources close to Suga said he did not plan to stand in another general election, which is likely to take place next month.
Suga＊s exit leaves the LDP without one of its most experienced veterans as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepares to dissolve parliament and call a snap election in the hope of securing public mandate for her policies.
Suga, as Abe＊s chief cabinet secretary, helped increase the authority of the Prime Minister＊s Office over the bureaucracy by controlling the appointment of top bureaucrats.
He was also known as the backroom lieutenant who avoided the spotlight while Abe was in power. As the government＊s top spokesperson, he stubbornly stayed on script to avoid any gaffes.
It was Suga who announced in April 2019 the name of the new era 〞 Reiwa 〞 which officially began on May 1, 2019, the day Emperor Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne.
When Abe stepped down as prime minister for health reasons in 2020, Suga stepped up to run in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, which he won. He went on to serve as prime minister until 2021, during which he steered Japan through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unlike Abe, he did not belong to any of the LDP＊s official factions, but headed an informal study group that supported his policies.
Suga, originally from Akita Prefecture, is a 10-term LDP Lower House member representing a district in Yokohama. He was first elected to parliament in 1996. In 2012, he was appointed chief cabinet secretary by Abe after the LDP returned to power in the general election that year.
Suga is also close to Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and supported him in his bids for the LDP presidency in 2024 and 2025, both of which were unsuccessful.
He also has cordial relations with Japan Innovation Party (JIP) leader and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura, and is particularly close to former JIP leaders and party co-founders Ichiro Matsui and Toru Hashimoto, who were previously Osaka governor and mayor, respectively.
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