TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Wednesday that he had no plans to dissolve the country’s lower house, in the latest turn of political drama as he fights to hold onto his job.
Domestic media reported this week that he intended to dissolve the lower house of parliament in mid-September and was considering holding the general election on Oct. 17.
Suga’s denial of these reports comes after several days of tense negotiations and sudden twists involving Suga and the most powerful politicians in the ruling camp as the unpopular prime minister maneuvers to stay in the top job.
“We can’t dissolve the lower house in this current situation,” said Suga, speaking of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked whether that meant he would let members of the lower house of parliament serve their full terms, which end Oct. 21, Suga avoided a direct answer.
“There are no plans to push back the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, and we will work around the dates available for the general election,” he said. The LDP leadership race is slated to be held on Sept. 29.
A senior LDP official told Reuters that Suga was weighing a party executive and cabinet reshuffle early next week. He added that the cabinet reshuffle would be small scale.
On Tuesday, media said Suga planned to remove long-term party ally and current LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai from his post as part of the reshuffle.
Nikai threw his backing behind Suga and helped him win the top post in the turmoil to succeed former premier Shinzo Abe last September. But some parliamentarians have voiced their unease with the amount of power wielded by 82-year-old Nikai, who has held his post since August 2016 — the longest in the party’s history.
Local media have also reported that Suga is seeking to dissolve the lower house in hopes of holding the LDP leadership race after the election, given that he has struggled to solidify support in the party and that other contenders like Fumio Kishida appear positioned to gather the votes of those opposing him.
Suga’s support ratings are at record lows, as he failed to capitalize on delivering the Olympics amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections. The government has since declared a fourth state of emergency in most of Japan.
The LDP and its allies are not expected to lose their coalition majority in the powerful lower house in the next general election, but forecasts suggest that the party could lose its outright majority, an outcome that would weaken the LDP leader.
Despite the dour forecast for the LDP, the Nikkei average gained 0.89 percent to 28,337.71 on Wednesday, hitting its highest level since mid-July.
Historically, the market has performed well after the parliament is dissolved.
“While things seem very fluid, some people think that political uncertainty has diminished on the grounds that Suga is likely to win the upcoming ruling party leadership election,” said Naoya Oshikubo, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
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Japanese PM Suga denies reports of dissolving parliament in mid-September
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Japanese PM Suga denies reports of dissolving parliament in mid-September
- Suga’s support ratings are at record lows
N Korean leader’s daughter fuels succession speculation with mausoleum visit
SEOUL: The North Korean leader’s daughter Kim Ju Ae has made her first public visit to a mausoleum housing her grandfather and great-grandfather, state media images showed Friday, further solidifying her place as likely next in line to run the nuclear-armed dictatorship.
The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.
Current leader Kim Jong Un is the third in line to rule in the world’s only communist monarchy, following his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
The two men — dubbed “eternal leaders” in state propaganda — are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un had visited the palace, accompanied by top officials. Images released by the agency showed daughter Ju Ae alongside him.
South Korea’s spy agency said last year she was now understood to be the next in line to rule North Korea after she accompanied her father on a high-profile visit to Beijing.
- ‘Presented as Kim’s successor’ -
And Cheong Seong-chang at Seoul’s Sejong Institute said he expected her to soon be “formally confirmed as the next successor both domestically and internationally.”
Cheong, author of a book on the Kim leadership, said her placement in the center of the front row during her visit to the place — a place typically reserved for her father — was especially notable.
It could be “interpreted as reporting to the ‘eternal leaders’ Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il that she is being presented as his successor,” he said.
Ju Ae was publicly introduced to the world in 2022 when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
North Korean state media have since referred to her as “the beloved child,” and a “great person of guidance” — “hyangdo” in Korean — a term typically reserved for top leaders and their successors.
Before 2022, the only confirmation of her existence had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who made a visit to the North in 2013.
Analysts have suggested that she could be elected First Secretary of the Central Committee, the second most powerful position in the North Korean ruling party, at a landmark congress due to be held in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, footage showed Ju Ae accompanying her parents at New Year celebrations in Pyongyang.
While first lady Ri Sol Ju kept a low profile, state TV showed Ju Ae placing one hand on the North Korean leader’s face and kissing him on the cheek — a rare public display of affection which drew headlines in South Korea.
The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their so-called “Paektu bloodline” dominates daily life in the isolated country.
Current leader Kim Jong Un is the third in line to rule in the world’s only communist monarchy, following his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
The two men — dubbed “eternal leaders” in state propaganda — are housed in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a vast mausoleum in downtown Pyongyang.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong Un had visited the palace, accompanied by top officials. Images released by the agency showed daughter Ju Ae alongside him.
South Korea’s spy agency said last year she was now understood to be the next in line to rule North Korea after she accompanied her father on a high-profile visit to Beijing.
- ‘Presented as Kim’s successor’ -
And Cheong Seong-chang at Seoul’s Sejong Institute said he expected her to soon be “formally confirmed as the next successor both domestically and internationally.”
Cheong, author of a book on the Kim leadership, said her placement in the center of the front row during her visit to the place — a place typically reserved for her father — was especially notable.
It could be “interpreted as reporting to the ‘eternal leaders’ Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il that she is being presented as his successor,” he said.
Ju Ae was publicly introduced to the world in 2022 when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
North Korean state media have since referred to her as “the beloved child,” and a “great person of guidance” — “hyangdo” in Korean — a term typically reserved for top leaders and their successors.
Before 2022, the only confirmation of her existence had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who made a visit to the North in 2013.
Analysts have suggested that she could be elected First Secretary of the Central Committee, the second most powerful position in the North Korean ruling party, at a landmark congress due to be held in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, footage showed Ju Ae accompanying her parents at New Year celebrations in Pyongyang.
While first lady Ri Sol Ju kept a low profile, state TV showed Ju Ae placing one hand on the North Korean leader’s face and kissing him on the cheek — a rare public display of affection which drew headlines in South Korea.
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