RISE OF SUGA UNDER ABE

Suga won a lower house seat in 1996 and was a long-time backer of outgoing Japan PM Shinzo Abe, pushing him to stand for a second term despite his disastrous first run in office, which ended after just a year. When Abe defied the odds and returned to power in 2012, he appointed Suga to the powerful chief cabinet secretary role, from which he is said to have helped push through several landmark Abe policies.