Not belonging to a faction may afford Mr Suga some flexibility. But it may also leave him vulnerable to intraparty machinations
models say a lot about political leaders. Suga Yoshihide’s is Toyotomi Hidenaga, the younger brother and right-hand man of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the better-known warlord who united Japan in the 16th century. As Abe Shinzo’s loyal chief cabinet secretary for nearly eight years, Mr Suga played a similar behind-the-scenes part, excelling at mobilising Japan’s sprawling bureaucracy.
Although Mr Suga and Mr Abe’s fates have long been intertwined, their paths to power could not be more divergent. Mr Abe is a princeling, the son of a foreign minister and the grandson and great-nephew of prime ministers. Mr Suga is the son of a farmer and a schoolteacher from Akita prefecture, a rural backwater in the north of Japan. He is the firstleader since the party’s founding in 1955 who does not belong to any faction.
Those backgrounds also shaped the two leaders’ priorities. Mr Abe’s mission was reviving Japan’s standing on the world stage and revising Japan’s constitution to legalise its armed forces. He saw his plans for economic revival as a means to those greater ends. For Mr Suga, economic revival is a goal unto itself. As chief cabinet secretary, he pushed for more competition in agriculture and telecoms, advocated free-trade agreements and worked to stimulate inbound tourism.
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