Suga,
Yoshihide,
1948—, Japanese political leader. A member of the Liberal Democratic party, he was first
elected to the Japanese house of representatives in 1996, having served
(from 1987) two terms in Yokohoma's city council. He became (2005) senior
vice minister for internal affairs and communications under Prime Minister
Koizumi, then was
(2006–7) minister for internal affairs and communications, minister
for privatization of the postal services, and minister of state for
decentralization reform during Shinzo Abe's first prime ministership. When
Abe became prime minister again in 2012, he named Suga his chief cabinet
secretary; Suga also served as minister in charge of strengthening national
security (2012–14) and minister in charge of alleviating the burden
of the bases in Okinawa (2014–2020). Suga, noted for his skill in
working behind the scenes, was an important ally in Abe's attempts to revive
Japan's economy and to reduce limitations on its military. In 2020, when Abe
stepped down for health reasons, Suga succeeded him as LDP leader and prime
minister, promising continuity with his predecessor's policies. However, he
decided not to seek reelection after just one year in office due largely to
his difficulties handling the economic impacts of the country's outbreak of
COVID-19 . He was succeeded by Fumio Kishida, a former
Minister for Foreign Affairs.
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