Japan’s new PM pushes Abe’s vision

TOKYO: Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, leaves on Sunday on his first overseas foray since taking over from his former boss Shinzo Abe last month, heading to Vietnam and Indonesia.

The choice to visit Southeast Asia underscores Japan’s efforts to counter Chinese influence and build stronger economic and defense ties in the region, much in line with Abe’s vision.

It also reflects pandemic realities. With the United States tied up with domestic politics ahead of the November 3 election, Suga was unable to head to Washington straight away for talks with Japan’s most important ally after he replaced Abe, who resigned for health reasons.

As he emerges from Abe’s shadow with promises to “work for the people,” Suga is proving in some ways to be even more hard line. It has raised hackles within Japan and could rile neighbors, already disgruntled by Abe’s nationalist agenda.

Abe had vowed to restore Japan’s waning diplomatic stature and national pride by promoting ultra-nationalistic policies such as traditional family values and amending the postWorld War 2 pacifist constitution to allow a greater overseas military role for his country.

While Abe traveled abroad relentlessly during his nearly eight years in office, often as Japan’s top salesman, Suga mostly stayed home to manage bureaucrats to push economic, security and other domestic policies.

Suga is expected to sign a bilateral defense equipment and technology transfer agreement with Vietnam as part of Tokyo’s efforts to promote exports of Japanese-made military equipment. It’s a signal that Suga is certain to follow in Abe’s footsteps in diplomacy.

At home, Suga was best known for his behind-the-scenes work pushing Abe’s agenda as chief Cabinet secretary. He has deftly used his modest background as the son of a strawberry farmer and a teacher and his low-profile, hardworking style to craft a more populist image than his predecessor.

With much of the world, including Japan, occupied with battling the coronavirus pandemic, Suga is focusing more on delivering results. So far, he appears to be trying to distinguish himself from Abe by pumping out a hodge-podge of consumer-friendly policies meant to showcase his practical and quick work.

With national elections expected within months, there is little time to waste.

“What is always on my mind is to tackle what needs to be accomplished without hesitation and quickly, and start from whatever is possible ... and let the people recognize the change,” Suga told reporters Friday as he marked his first month in office.

He has ordered his Cabinet to rush through approvals of several projects such as eliminating the requirement for Japanese-style “hanko” stamps, widely used in place of signatures on business and government documents. He is forging ahead with his earlier efforts to lower cellphone rates and promote use of computers and online government and business.

Tackling Japan’s low birthrate and shrinking population head-on, he favors granting insurance coverage for infertility treatments.