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is a Japanese politician who served as
Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2020 to 2021. He had served as Chief Cabinet Secretary during the second administration of Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
from 2012 to 2020. During Abe's first administration, Suga served as
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The minister is also a statutory member of the National Security Council (Japan), National Security Council, and ...
from 2006 to 2007. Born to a family of
strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
farmers in rural
Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...
, Suga moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school, where he enrolled in
Hosei University formerly known as Tokyo University of Law (東京法学社, Tokyo Hogakusha) is a top research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Hosei University and four other private universities in Tokyo are collectively known as "MARCH (Japanese univers ...
. Shortly after graduating, 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. In the 1996 election, Suga was elected to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, representing
Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
's 2nd district as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). During his time in the
Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
, Suga became a close ally of Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe. When Abe first became prime minister in 2006, he appointed Suga to the Cabinet as
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. The minister is also a statutory member of the National Security Council (Japan), National Security Council, and ...
. Suga left the Cabinet a year later, but after the LDP won the 2012 election, Suga was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary, a role he would hold throughout Abe's second term as prime minister. This made him the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history. In September 2020, after Abe announced that he would resign due to health concerns, Suga was elected to succeed him in the LDP presidential election and was subsequently elected prime minister by the Diet and appointed by
Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...
. Suga's premiership focused primarily on responding to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, including overseeing the rollout of
vaccines A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an ag ...
in the country. Suga's time in office also saw the holding of the delayed
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
and
Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
in Tokyo and the announcement of a plan for Japan to reach
carbon neutrality Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
by 2050. While Suga began his time in office relatively popular, his approval ratings fell due to public dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the pandemic and the Olympic Games. Facing hesitancy from his party amid preparation for the upcoming 2021 general election, Suga announced on 3 September 2021 that he would not seek reelection in the 2021 LDP presidential election, effectively resigning as party president and prime minister. His tenure officially ended on 4 October 2021 after he was succeeded by Fumio Kishida.


Early life and education

Yoshihide Suga was born on 6 December 1948, to a family of strawberry farmers in Ogachi (now Yuzawa), a rural area in
Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...
, and moved to Tokyo after graduation from Yuzawa High School. He attended night school to earn a
Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...
from
Hosei University formerly known as Tokyo University of Law (東京法学社, Tokyo Hogakusha) is a top research university in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Hosei University and four other private universities in Tokyo are collectively known as "MARCH (Japanese univers ...
in 1973. Suga chose Hosei "because it was the cheapest option available" and he "worked in a cardboard factory in Tokyo to pay his tuition".


Political career

After graduating from university, Suga worked on a
House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...
(upper house) election campaign, and thereafter worked as secretary to LDP Diet Member Hikosaburo Okonogi, father of LDP politician Hachiro Okonogi, for eleven years. Suga resigned from this position in October 1986 to pursue his own career in politics. He 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. He pioneered the practice of giving campaign speeches in front of busy train stations, which is now common among Japanese political candidates. Despite being a young councilor, Suga presided over the highest levels of government, which earned him the nickname "the shadow mayor".


Representative

Suga was elected to the
Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
in the 1996 general election, representing the Kanagawa 2nd district. In his third year in the Diet, he shifted his support from Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to former LDP Secretary-General Seiroku Kajiyama, an unusual move for a junior legislator. He was re-elected in the 2000 general election, 2003 general election, and 2005 general election. Suga was appointed Senior Vice Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications in November 2005 under Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...
. He was promoted to Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and Minister for Privatization of the Postal Services in the first
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
cabinet in September 2006, and added the portfolio of Minister of State for Decentralization Reform in December 2006. He was instrumental in the development of Japan's system, which allowed taxpayers to obtain deductions by donating money to local governments. He was replaced by Hiroya Masuda in a cabinet reshuffle in August 2007. His "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 The was a Centrism, centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to Centre-left politics, centre-left, Liberalism, liberal or Social liberalism, social-liberal List of political parties in Japan, ...
. In October 2011, he was appointed Chairman of the LDP Party of Organization and Movement Headquarters. In September 2012, he was appointed Executive Acting Secretary-General of the LDP. As a Diet member, Suga built a power base among legislators not affiliated with the party's factions, particularly a group of young first-generation lawmakers known as the "
Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...
group".


Chief Cabinet Secretary

Suga remained close to
Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
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, 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. Following Abe's victory in the 2012 general election, Suga was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary in the second Abe cabinet in December 2012. In September 2014, he was given the additional portfolio of Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the Bases in Okinawa. Suga and Tarō Asō were the only members of the December 2012 cabinet who remained in the cabinet as of November 2019. 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 is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving in that role from 2000 to 2004 under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori an ...
, served for a total of 1,289 days, less than half as long as Suga. As Chief Cabinet Secretary, Suga served as an aide and advisor to Abe, and took an active managerial role in the government. He had a key role in the government's initiatives to attract tourists and foreign workers and reduce mobile telephone rates. He formed a team to reexamine the lead-up to the Kono Statement of 1993 but the group was soon after disbanded without ever reaching a consensus. He was affiliated with
ultranationalist Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...
and
far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
organisation,
Nippon Kaigi is Japan's largest ultraconservative and ultranationalist far-right non-governmental organisation and lobbying group. It was established in 1997 and has approximately 38,000 to 40,000 members as of 2020. The group has significant influence i ...
. Under Abe, 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. He was also supportive of the aggressive measures by the
Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...
to counter deflation. In 2015, he was criticized for publicly encouraging Japanese women to "contribute to their country by feeling like they want to have more children". He continued to hold his seat in the 2014 general election and 2017 general election. Suga gained domestic and international fame when he announced the name of the new imperial era,
Reiwa is the current and 232nd era of the official calendar of Japan. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated ...
, on 1 April 2019, earning him the nickname "Uncle Reiwa" (Reiwa Ojisan). While he had previously been a low-profile member of the government, this honor gave him an instant surge in name recognition and led more LDP lawmakers to view him as a viable candidate for party leadership. He was sent to Washington in May 2019 for a meeting with U.S. Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
and other senior officials, fueling speculation that he was being groomed to serve as Abe's successor. Suga faced scrutiny later that year due to the resignations of Cabinet ministers Katsuyuki Kawai and Isshu Sugawara, both of whom had been close associates of Suga and were accused of campaign financing violations. Suga also 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. Suga served as a key Abe deputy during the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He criticized the structure of the Japanese bureaucracy, with deep divisions between ministries, as stalling coordination to stop the spread of the virus.


Premiership (2020–2021)

Following Shinzo Abe's resignation announcement in August 2020 due to his
ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary sympto ...
, Suga emerged as the leading contender to replace Abe on the leadership election, having gained the support of Deputy Prime Minister Tarō Asō and LDP Secretary-General
Toshihiro Nikai is a former Japanese politician for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the leader of the LDP Shisuikai faction (informally called the Nikai faction), who served as the Secretary-General of the LDP from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the ...
, as well as the two largest factions in the LDP and supposedly even Abe himself. Suga's main competitors in the LDP leadership race were longtime Abe rival
Shigeru Ishiba Shigeru Ishiba (born 4 February 1957) is a Japanese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2024. He has been a member of ...
and LDP policy chief Fumio Kishida. Suga was elected to the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party on 14 September 2020, with 377 votes out of a total of 534. Upon his election, Suga outlined a policy agenda that included tackling the ongoing pandemic and implementing further
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
to revitalize the economy. He reiterated his past interest in consolidating regional banks and lowering mobile phone charges in Japan. 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, as well as continuing to seek constitutional revision, including a new clause to
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. The Constitution was drafted following the surrender of Japan in World War II. It came into effect on 3 May 1947 during the oc ...
legitimizing the existence of
Japan Self-Defense Forces The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense ...
. He and his cabinet were sworn in on 16 September 2020. At the first press conference as the prime minister, Suga officially stated that his premiership will focus first on responding to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, 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 Digital transformation (DT) is the process of adoption and implementation of digital technology by an organization in order to create new or modify existing products, services and operations by the means of translating business processes into a d ...
and the review of
supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...
s.


Foreign policy

In October 2020, 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. Suga also vowed to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian countries and signed an agreement allowing his government to export defense equipment and technology to Vietnam. Suga has also committed to stronger ties with US President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
to discuss the US-Japan security alliance, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. In particular, Suga considered 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. Suga has made previous environmental commitments, such as a ¥2 trillion fund to promote research into decarbonization technologies and the setting of specific goals at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in the UK in November 2021. They have also agreed to work towards complete
denuclearization Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...
of North Korea. Suga flew to the United States to meet with President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in April 2021. Suga was the first foreign leader to visit Biden at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. Suga has also vowed to fight Chinese influence in the Pacific region. In July 2021, he held a remote meeting with Pacific nations leaders and pledged 3 million COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to counter Chinese influence. The move was supported by the United States. Suga also pledged help to Tuvalu and other Pacific nations in the fight against
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.


COVID-19 response

In his 2021 New Year's address, Suga pledged to bring COVID-19 under control and to push forward with preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which had been postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Suga implemented the GoTo stimulus program, which provides steep discounts for domestic travel in response to the economic consequences of the pandemic. By stimulating demand for tourism, it was aimed at boosting regional economies and helping hotels and airlines. However, it was suspended in December 2020 after criticism that it helped spread the virus and conflicted with the government's message for avoiding unnecessary travel. This was after Suga denied considering a halt to the campaign to focus on improving the economy. Suga has received criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. His attendance at an expensive steak dinner for eight, which included several celebrities and politicians and had happened after his decision to suspend "GoTo Travel", was deprecated by the public; all attendees were over 70, a high-risk age group for the virus. At the time, the government was advising people to avoid dining in groups of more than five. Suga has subsequently apologized. In January 2021, Suga declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
in the
Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Ibaraki Prefecture, ...
and the three surrounding prefectures, which was Japan's first such declaration since April 2020. The emergency included restrictions on daily life, with
remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...
encouraged and residents being urged to avoid non-essential outings; however, schools remained open. While the state of emergency carries no legal power, Suga has stated the government will consider amending the law to allow local authorities to penalize businesses that do not comply with official requests. Suga also pledged to provide up to ¥1.8 million per month to each restaurant that complies with a request to shorten its operating hours.


Approval rating

Suga's cabinet has seen fluctuating approval since Abe's resignation. The cabinet's approval rating dropped from 74 percent in September 2020 to 42 percent in January 2021. Shigeru Omi, the COVID-19 task force chief, said that this was due to Suga's GoTo promotions. It has also been attributed to his rejection of scholars on a science advisory panel. The drop in approval for Suga's cabinet proved the largest since October 2010, following the Senkaku boat collision incident. Approval bounced from 38 percent in February to 42 percent in March 2021. The cabinet's approval hit a record low in May 2021, hitting 33 percent after having again dropped to 40 percent the previous month. Amidst rising coronavirus cases in the community in the
Greater Tokyo The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tochigi) as well as the p ...
area, Suga's approval rating dwindled to a record lows of 31% in July and 28% in August while hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games during a pandemic. In an election widely seen as a referendum on the ruling LDP's Coronavirus response, the candidate that Suga endorsed lost the Yokohama mayoral race in August by a considerable margin putting considerable pressure on Suga's reelection chances in the upcoming national election, as an MP representing Kanagawa.


Resignation

On 3 September 2021, Suga announced that he would not seek re-election as the head of its governing party. This announcement followed his approval ratings being at an all-time low (below 30% in recent polls) as the nation struggled with its worst wave of COVID-19 infections ahead of the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
that year. His resignation would become effective on 30 September 2021, a day after the Liberal Democratic leadership election. Suga's announcement came at a press conference where a LDP leadership reshuffle was to be announced; although Suga had reportedly been fully intent on running as of the day before, both Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso refused to cooperate further with Suga's leadership in conversations on the evening of the 2nd, leading to Suga's surprise announcement the next morning. On 29 September 2021, the LDP elected former foreign minister Fumio Kishida as new leader of the party and virtually making the prime minister-designate of Japan. Kishida replaced Suga on 4 October 2021.


Personal life

Suga is married and has three sons. His wife, Mariko, is the sister of one of his former co-workers in the office of Hikosaburo Okonogi. His eldest son, Seigoh, is the former director of Tohokushinsha Film (discharged on Feb. 2021). Suga has a daily fitness routine that includes doing 100 situps and 40 minutes of walking each morning, and 100 situps each night. He started this routine after a doctor advised him to lose weight, and he lost in four months. He is also known as a voracious reader, and is known for reading all major newspapers daily despite his busy schedule. Suga practiced karate when he was a college student. He holds the third dan black belt. Suga is known to have a sweet tooth. His favorite food is pancakes. His lunch is almost always
soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") are Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour, with a small amount of wheat flour mixed in. It has an ashen brown color, and a slightly grainy texture. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sau ...
. He neither smokes nor drinks.


See also

* Tohokushinsha Film and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications scandal


References


External links

* *
Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Suga, Yoshihide 1948 births Living people People from Akita Prefecture Politicians from Akita Prefecture Ministers of internal affairs of Japan Japanese municipal councilors Politicians from Kanagawa Prefecture Politicians from Yokohama Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Presidents of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) Liberal Democratic Party prime ministers of Japan Members of Nippon Kaigi Hosei University alumni Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Recipients of the Olympic Order Recipients of the Paralympic Order 20th-century Japanese politicians 21st-century prime ministers of Japan People from Yuzawa, Akita Chief Cabinet Secretaries of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2003–2005 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2005–2009 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2009–2012 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2012–2014 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2014–2017 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2017–2021 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2021–2024 Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) 2024–