Even a politician as strait-laced as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga can show he has a lighter side.
Appearing Friday in an online streaming program, Suga introduced himself by saying, "Hello, everyone. I'm Gaasuu" -- a playful nickname used mainly in social media that is a reversal of the syllables of his name.
The usually stone-faced Suga smiled coyly in an apparent attempt to create a friendly atmosphere by using the nickname in response to a request from the host for an opening message to viewers to start the live show,
During the show, Suga addressed the recent announcement by NTT Docomo Inc. of its new low-price large-capacity smartphone plan.
"Now [KDDI Corp.'s] 'au' and SoftBank Corp. will have no choice but to follow suit," he said. "I think [mobile phone fees] might drop by more than half."
Suga also revealed that he met four times in the past with Antony Blinken, who has been nominated for the post of U.S. secretary of state by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.
In regard to remarks made by Biden in recent phone talks with Suga that the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Suga said: "It wasn't part of the planned topics [of discussion], but he said it anyway. Maybe others steered him in that direction," implying that Blinken might have been involved.
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