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Japan's Suga hopeful about Tokyo Olympic Games amid falling economy

WION Web Team
Tokyo, JapanUpdated: Sep 08, 2020, 01:07 PM IST
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(File Photo) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga Photograph:(AFP)

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Suga is contesting for upcoming elections to replace the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who resigned due to his ill-health

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said the next Prime Minister will have the right to dissolve the parliament, hinting towards a possibility of snap election.

"There’s no change to my stance as chief cabinet minister that what the public wants from the government most is to focus on measures to deal with the coronavirus pandemic,” Suga was quoted saying by local media.

”But the prime minister has the right to dissolve parliament (and call a snap election). If the next premier decides to call one, that should be the case. If not, it won’t happen,” he continued.

He also said he is hopeul about Tokyo Olympic Games, despite the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a decline in japan's economy. Suga believes the Tokyo Olympics will bring various benefits for Japan in these difficult times.

”We’d like to contain the pandemic and make this happen,” he said. ”There are various, extraordinary merits for Japan to host the Games.”

Suga is contesting for upcoming elections to replace the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who resigned due to his ill-health. There have been speculations of Suga pushing for a snap elections to tighten his grip on the post, especially since the opinion polls showed a jump in voter approval of Suga.

The elections for the post of Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) head are scheduled for Setember 14. Suga will be competing against former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba and ex-foreign minister Fumio Kishida. However, political experts are predicting Suga's win.