The heads of major opposition parties denounced Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's announcement on Friday that he would not run in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election, calling the move irresponsible amid the pandemic.
"When politics is required to make imminent responses to the lives of people in this country, such a situation arose, and I take it with outrage," Yukio Edano, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told a group of reporters. "The prime minister is irresponsible, and I have to say the whole LDP, which brought about the circumstances, is no longer qualified to take charge of the government as well."
"[Suga] became bogged down in his handling of the government and gave up the prime minister's seat," said Akira Koike, head of the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party. "This means that he will abandon his responsibility in dealing with the pandemic. The responsibility is equally shared by the LDP."
But Nobuyuki Baba, secretary general of Nippon Ishin no Kai, said: "I'd like to thank him for leading politics in Japan for a long time, first as the chief cabinet secretary and then as the prime minister. Dealing with the pandemic is the biggest concern for the people in this country. I'd like to have solid arguments with the new prime minister come the impending general election."
"I am concerned about the fact that the leader in handling the measures against the novel coronavirus speaks of his intention to resign in the middle of a state of emergency," said Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People. "To be honest, I think the resignation is his way of taking responsibility for the failure in dealing with the pandemic."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
