Japan PM to resign over poor Covid response

September 03, 2021 13:06

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he will not run for party re-election as a leader this month, amid criticism over his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes as just under a year Suga took office and as his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) prepares to hold its presidential election on September 29, with campaigning starting on September 17, Kyodo News reported.

"I had planned to run, but dealing with both COVID-19 and the election would require an enormous amount of energy. I decided that there was no way to do both, that I had to choose," Suga told reporters, adding, "I decided to focus on coronavirus measures."Suga was quoted by a participant at a meeting of LDP executives held earlier in the day, as saying he will serve out his term through September 30.

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