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Tokyo, Japan – With the announcement of the postponement of the pandemic-affected Tokyo Olympics at the closing ceremony on Sunday, all eyes in Japan are now on the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga before the general election that must be held in late October.
The prime minister has been criticized for his handling of the incident. Although Tokyo entered its fourth state of emergency due to COVID-19 only two weeks ago, many people believe that although Tokyo entered its fourth state of emergency only two weeks ago, he still allowed himself-and the wider population – Become a victim of the pressure of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Olympics. Opening ceremony.
By the time the event due to the coronavirus started a year later, only 32% of the general population had received the COVID-19 vaccine at least once. Critics say that Yoshihide Suga, whose popularity has declined due to the handling of the epidemic, is gambling with public health to increase ratings if the country’s athletes perform well and the Olympics ends smoothly.
The performance of the Japanese Olympians exceeded expectations, winning 58 medals, 27 of which were gold medals, an unparalleled performance in the history of the country. However, with the rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the capital, almost no one thinks that their achievements will affect the prime minister.
Jeff Kingston, Director of Asian Studies at Tokyo Temple University, said: “Suga desperately tried to enjoy the glory reflected in the medals won by Japan, but could not escape the surge in COVID-19 cases.”
“The government insists that there is no connection between the Olympics and the surge. But the public believes that the vaccine’s failure to roll out is his fault. While declaring a national emergency, continuing to host the Olympics despite the advice of his medical adviser sent a complicated message.”
Experts predict that in the next two weeks, there may be as many as 10,000 new cases per day in the capital. Official policy now focuses on amplifying the risk of the virus among young people whose infection rates are rising.
The highly contagious Delta change represents 90% of new cases in Tokyo. The detection of at least one instance of the Lambda variant increased the mixture of excitement and anxiety after the celebration in the city.
Many Japanese believe that Suga is more interested in appeasing the International Olympic Committee than in resolving their concerns about hosting major sporting events during the pandemic. [File: Kimimasa Mayama/Pool via Reuters]The holding of the Paralympic Games, scheduled to begin on August 24, further complicates the government’s mixed messages.
Although the daily coronavirus cases in the host city Tokyo exceeded the 5,000 mark for the first time on August 5, Suga Yoshihide said at a press conference a day later that the audience may not have entered the venue.
“In this sense, Yoshihide Suga caused public distrust, appeared incompetent, and eager to use irresponsible young people as scapegoats in order to divert attention from his failure,” Kingston said. “This issue is compounded by his plank press conference. He expressed zero empathy at the press conference and only gave model comments that made him look dizzy.”
Potential leadership challenges
The Asahi opinion poll conducted over the weekend showed that the prime minister’s approval rate was 28%, which is lower than the 30% that is usually regarded as a “way of no return”. Yoshihide Suga’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe, is rarely seen among Japanese prime ministers, because he has been in power for eight years and is Japan’s longest reigning leader. Most others tend to last only a few years.
As Yoshihide Suga’s term as chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ends on September 30, analysts said he is likely to find himself facing challenges from within the party. Due to the government’s handling of the health crisis, many young lawmakers who were dissatisfied with the public have lost confidence in the leadership.
“If there are serious competitors, Suga is more and more likely to be re-elected because he does not have a large power base in the party,” said Koichi Nakano, a professor of comparative politics at Sophia University in Tokyo. “In that case, he will be replaced by a new leader before a general election is held later in the fall.”
Last week, former Minister of the Interior Sanae Takaichi threw her hat into the ring as a potential substitute. However, the need for the support of 20 Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers—traditionally a stumbling block for women in the male-dominated party—may limit her chances of success.
Japan’s “vaccine czar” Kono Taro (left) may be the successor of Yoshihide Suga, who will face party leader elections and general elections in the coming months [File: Stringer/Jiji Press via AFP]
Sanae Takaichi has put her hat in the ring as a potential substitute for Suga, but needs to get the support of at least 20 lawmakers in the male-dominated party [File:Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP]Elsewhere, the “Yomiuri Shimbun” poll showed that 20% of respondents believe that former foreign minister Vaccine Taro Kono will take over the next highest post. However, Yoshihide Suga wisely decided to hand over the controversial role of managing the mucus vaccine program to Kono, which may hinder his opportunity this time.
If Yoshihide Suga blocks his opponents in the party before the election, voters will lack alternatives.
Although the Liberal Democratic Party’s support is vacillating and Yoshihide Suga believes that it cannot cope with the escalating coronavirus situation, the country’s main opposition party, the Japanese Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), has yet to make any significant progress.
This is partly due to internal conflicts. CDP legislator Hiranao Honda resigned after making inappropriate comments on the legal age of consent, and the party was recently embroiled in a destructive dispute.
Elsewhere, the party has been trying to get rid of the accusations. It is just a revision of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
In 2009, the Democratic Party briefly seized power from the Liberal Democratic Party amid similar dissatisfaction. This is one of only two times since the party was founded in 1955 that the Liberal Democratic Party has given up control of the Japanese parliament.
Due to internal strife and the impact of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, the Democratic Party subsequently imploded, leading to a landslide loss in the 2012 election.
However, perhaps what the China Democracy Party is most worried about is its unstable alliance with the Japanese Communist Party (JCP).
After cooperation with other opposition groups led to progress in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections held in July, the JCP is keen to implement the “opposition joint administration” policy.
The pandemic increases unpredictability
However, the two parties still have differences on key issues such as the US-Japan alliance and monarchy. However, Nakano of Sophia University believes that the transaction will prove possible, allowing the China Democracy Party to “prepare to win more seats in the election, but it may not be enough to win power.”
The feeling of the opposition’s lack of cohesion is likely to fall into the hands of Suga Yoshihide.
“In Japan’s House of Commons elections, the fragmented opposition tends to favor the Liberal Democratic Party,” said Philip Lipsey, chair of Japanese politics and global affairs at the University of Toronto.
Japan’s first or second in the park skateboarding competition is a highlight of Japan’s success at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics [File: Ben Curtis/AP Photo]The general belief that the Liberal Democratic Party is invulnerable has led to a form of Hobson choice for national voters: either a plump or a bland incumbent. If nothing else, he is a well-known commodity. ; Or looking elsewhere, usually for greater factionalism and division.
“The disillusionment of the Liberal Democratic Party and opposition parties is nothing new in Japan,” Lipsey continued. “This is one of the reasons why so many Japanese voters say they do not support any political party in the polls. [approximately 42 percent]. “
However, for those seeking change in the upcoming elections, the unpredictability of the pandemic is encouraging.
Voters are not only angry at the government’s handling of COVID-19, but also at the role of guinea pigs in the global trials jointly organized by the Olympics and Paralympics.
“If voters are still indifferent, the Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komei will often do well because they have a fairly reliable core support base,” Lipsey said. However, he said that previously unrelated “mobile voters” can “if they become excited and vote in large numbers, it will significantly change the results of the election.”
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