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Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga completed 100 days in office. He will hope for hundreds more to follow. But if the proverbial hot seat he currently occupies gets any hotter, it may not be long before he is forced to vacate and make way for someone else.
As of last week, Mr Suga’s approval rating – or more precisely, that of his cabinet – has sunk to about 40 per cent. The precipitous fall, from a little over 55 per cent polled just last month, has raised two questions. First, will Mr Suga survive the next year in office? And second, how is it that a politician of Mr Suga’s experience and guile is facing such strong political headwinds just three months after being unanimously elected by his party to replace Shinzo Abe?
Global science chief urges Suga to explain Japan science council controversy Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Kyodo Dec 18, 2020
The head of a global academic council has urged Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to provide a reasonable explanation for his decision to reject the appointment of six scholars to a government advisory body.
“To ensure an open and enabling environment for science in Japan, it would be helpful for the Japanese government to respond to the requests for an explanation, and to agree to an open discussion of the matter with the (Japanese council),” said Daya Reddy, president of the International Science Council, in a recent written interview with Kyodo News.
Takaaki Kajita, center, president of the Science Council of Japan, and other executives hold a news conference on Dec. 16 to explain the interim report submitted to the science and technology policy minister. (Tetsuya Ishikura)
The Science Council of Japan issued an interim report Dec. 16 that stopped short of proposing it sever all ties with the government following a high-profile row with the Suga administration.
The Science Council has been discussing how it could change as an advisory body to the central government in the aftermath of an unprecedented decision by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to block the appointments of six scholars recommended by the body.
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Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga assumed the mantle of Japanese prime minister amidst growing regional security threats, continuing COVID-19 effects on public health and the economy, a critical financial situation, and lingering structural economic problems. Given the extent of these challenges, one wonders whether to offer Suga condolences rather than congratulations.
Suga’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe, implemented a visionary foreign policy, strengthened Japan’s alliance with the United States, and undertook an increasingly firm security stance against Chinese and North Korean threats. Suga will continue Abe’s policies, but may do so with less enthusiasm for expanding Japan’s regional and global security role. Suga vowed to continue the “Abenomics” strategy to stimulate the economy, but he will have to adapt to undo the dire economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.