Foreign News
Japan PM, Suga to Back Vaccine Minister, Kono to Succeed Him
Japan’s outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will back the popular minister in charge of the nation’s vaccination rollout, Taro Kono, to succeed him, Nippon News Network reported on Saturday.
Suga said Friday he will not run for his ruling party’s leadership, effectively ending his tenure and throwing wide open the race for the next premier.
The shock decision after just a year in office comes with Suga’s approval ratings at an all-time low over his government’s handling of the response to the pandemic.
And it suggests a possible return to political instability for Japan, which cycled through prime ministers regularly before the lengthy tenure of Suga’s predecessor Shinzo Abe.
“In one year since I became prime minister, I have poured all of my strength into dealing with the various problems facing the country, with anti-coronavirus measures at the forefront,” Suga told reporters.
He said he realised that running for election and handling the virus response would require “enormous energy”.
“I came to the realisation that I cannot do both. I had to choose one of them,” he added.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secretary general Toshihiro Nikai said he was “surprised” by Suga’s decision not to stand in the Sept. 29 leadership race.
“It’s truly regrettable. He did his best,” Nikai said.
It was a decision that had not been foreshadowed, with Suga dropping no hints of his plans to leave office after just a single year in power and before contesting his first general election.
He came to office last year, stepping into the post left empty when Abe resigned for health reasons.
Suga had been widely expected to seek re-election as LDP leader, with most speculation surrounding only how soon after that he would call a general election.
The election must be called by late October and held by the following month, with the LDP expected to remain in power but possibly lose seats as a result of Suga’s unpopularity.
His government’s approval rating has nosedived to an all-time low of 31.8 per cent, according to a poll by the Kyodo news agency last month.
And recent reports about his plans for a cabinet reshuffle, as an attempt to remedy his unpopularity, appeared to be insufficient.
His decision was likely to be privately welcomed by some in the party, said Tomoaki Iwai, a professor of politics at Nihon University.
“For the LDP MPs it’s a relief that they don’t have to run in general elections under an unpopular prime minister,” he told AFP.
Suga has been battered by his government’s response to the pandemic, with Japan struggling through a record fifth wave of the virus after a slow start to its vaccine rollout.
Much of the country is currently under virus restrictions, and the measures have been in place in some areas for almost the entire year.
But they have been insufficient to stop a surge in cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant, even as vaccination has picked up pace with nearly 43 per cent of the population fully inoculated.
Japan has recorded nearly 16,000 deaths during the pandemic.
The 72-year-old Suga’s rise to prime minister last year capped a lengthy political career.
Before taking the top office he served in the prominent role of chief cabinet secretary, and he had earned a fearsome reputation for wielding his power to control Japan’s sprawling and powerful bureaucracy.
The son of a strawberry farmer and a schoolteacher, Suga was raised in rural Akita in northern Japan and put himself through college after moving to Tokyo by working at a factory.
He was elected to his first office in 1987 as a municipal assembly member in Yokohama outside Tokyo, and entered parliament in 1996.
The news of Suga’s announcement cheered investors, causing the benchmark Nikkei index to gain 1.70 percent after the lunch break.
Analysts said investors expected a change in leadership to boost the chances of an economic stimulus package.
One of Suga’s challengers for head of the LDP is Fumio Kishida, who has already pledged to spend big if elected, and Iwai said the former foreign minister would now be in with a good chance.
“Kishida is probably the front runner, as he is moderate and capable,” Iwai said.
The turmoil makes it likely the election will be pushed back as late as possible, into November, he added. (NAN)
Three Israelis are missing following clashes between Israeli football fans and pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the fringes of football club Maccabi Tel Aviv’s match in Amsterdam, according to Israeli authorities.
Ten people were injured in the violence, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Friday morning.
The degree of their injuries was initially unclear.
The ministry urged its citizens to use public transport to travel to the airport, after Israel had announced it was sending two planes to evacuate the fans.
Local security forces had been deployed, the ministry said.
The ministry had initially advised fans not to leave their hotels.
It also advised its citizens not to wear Jewish or Israeli symbols in public.
(dpa/NAN)
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius is to travel to France for talks with his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu on Wednesday evening, following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
The talks are expected to focus on the consequences of Trump’s victory.
In particular for the future support for Ukraine, which has been fighting for more than two and a half years against Russia, as well as for European defence policy?
Washington has been a central provider of military support to Ukraine, which Trump has long criticized.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine in a very short time and has held Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jointly responsible for the war.
(dpa/NAN)
Congratulations for Donald Trump poured in early on Wednesday following his victory over challenger, Democrat’s Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential polls.
“Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine, with respect and ambition.
“For more peace and prosperity, French President“, Emmanuel Macron, wrote on social media platform X.
“Congratulations to Donald Trump on his election victory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the platform X.
“I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs,” he added.
“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.
I am hopeful that we will put it into action together,” Zelensky wrote.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also added his congratulations.
“For a long time, Germany and the U.S. have been working together successfully promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We will continue to do so for the wellbeing of our citizens,” the chancellor wrote on X.
Earlier, Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone about the election outcome.
A German government spokesman said the two European leaders had agreed to coordinate closely with each other.
“We will work in this new context for a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe.
“In cooperation with the U.S. and defending our interests and values,’’ Macron wrote on X after the conversation.
The mood was ebullient out of Moscow, which has led a full-scale war against Ukraine for more than two and a half years, with no end in sight.
“Hallelujah, wrote Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, on her Telegram channel, noting that the election winner was the one who loved his own country.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who now sits on the Russian Security Council, said Trump has an important quality for Russia.
“As a businessman to the core, he cannot stand spending money on various minions and lackeys on idiotic allies, on stupid charity projects and on gluttonous international organisations.’’
He said it was a sad day for the scum in Kiev, in a post on Telegram.
Newly appointed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, whose alliance has a key role in the war on Ukraine, congratulated Trump on X.
“His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong,’’ Rutte added.
The conservative broadcaster Fox News had already declared Republican candidate Trump the overall winner against Democrat Kamala Harris, but other media networks and U.S. news agency AP had not done so.
Trump declared himself the winner in a speech to supporters in Florida.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz added his congratulations.
“For a long time, Germany and the U.S. have been working together successfully promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic.
“We will continue to do so for the wellbeing of our citizens,” the chancellor wrote on X.
Earlier, Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone about the election outcome.
A German government spokesman said the two European leaders had agreed to coordinate closely with each other.
“We will work in this new context for a more united, stronger, more sovereign Europe.
In cooperation with the U.S. and defending our interests and values,’’ Macron wrote on X after the conversation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she looked forward to working with the presumptive 47th president of the U.S. on a strong trans-Atlantic agenda that delivers for their people.
Von der Leyen said the European Union and the United States “are more than just allies,” bound by a “shared history, commitment to freedom and democracy, and common goals of security and opportunity for all.”
“Millions of jobs and billions in trade and investment on each side of the Atlantic depend on the dynamism and stability of our economic relationship,” she added.
Outgoing European Council President Charles Michel, meanwhile, said the EU looked forward to cooperating constructively with the US, while “defending the rules-based multilateral system.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK-US special relationship would “continue to prosper” following Donald Trump’s “historic election victory,” the PA news agency reported.
Congratulations also came from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said the strategic connections between their two countries would now become even stronger.
“Good luck with your work, president!” the far-right prime minister added.
“Congratulations, Mr President … You made it happen!” Poland’s conservative nationalist president, Andrzej Duda, posted on X.
Dutch right-wing populist politician Geert Wilders, a declared Trump supporter who won the election in the Netherlands almost a year ago, joined in the chorus.
“Congratulations America! Never stop, always keep fighting and win elections!” Wilders wrote on X before the official result was announced.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was “history’s greatest comeback.”
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his “friend” Donald Trump had won the presidential election after a “great struggle.”
China, meanwhile, was more cautious in its response. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the election was a domestic affair that Beijing would handle as usual once the results are officially announced. (dpa/NAN)
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