Japan's new PM Yoshihide Suga, self-made and strong-willed

Japan's new PM Yoshihide Suga, self-made and strong-willed

SeattlePI.com

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TOKYO (AP) — Before he got Japan's top government job officially, Yoshihide Suga was known as a “shadow" prime minister and the right-hand man for his long-serving predecessor.

When Shinzo Abe announced last month he would resign due to ill health, his chief Cabinet secretary Suga said he would come forward to pursue Abe's unfinished work.

The self-made politician was elected by Parliament on Wednesday as Japan's new prime minister, two days after he succeeded Abe as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Suga's low-key image from government briefings contrast with his behind-the-scenes work at managing bureaucrats and pushing policies.

As the chief Cabinet spokesman under Abe, the straight-faced Suga offered bland commentary at twice-daily televised news briefings highlighted last year when he became known as “Uncle Reiwa” in unveiling Emperor Naruhito’s imperial era name.

But behind the scenes, Suga is known for his stubbornness, an iron-fist approach as a policy coordinator and influencing bureaucrats by using the power of the prime minister’s office, leading political watchers to call him the “shadow prime minister.”

Some bureaucrats who opposed his policies have said they were removed from government projects or transferred to another posts. Suga himself recently said he would continue to do so.

As his parents’ eldest son, Suga defied tradition by leaving for Tokyo rather than taking over the family strawberry farm in Akita prefecture. He worked at a cardboard factory before entering university, paying his tuition while working part-time jobs, including one at the Tsukiji fish market.

His classmates remember Suga as a quiet but a person of determination. Suga, who played baseball in junior high school, insisted on his batting form...

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