Honeymoon period is now over for PM Suga who has been struggling amidst of COVID 19 new waves in Japan. At first he was blessed by faction support among LDP and also well-known for announcing a new era of ‘Reiwa’ , the Japanese calendar. He does not belong to a certain faction in LDP but succeeded in garnering supports from leading factions through the rule of elimination. Because of this, his legitimacy and power base are dependent on popular support. Faction leaders supported him in a hope that at the next general election Suga’s popularity should be able to give LDP a majority in the Parliament. However primarily because of his poor performance in articulating his policies and current problems , and partly because of former PM Abe’s legacy and debt, the most recent opinion poll suggests Suga’s support has been rapidly eroding.
His strategy to maintain power is to steer through COVID , convene a successful Olympic next summer, resolve the Parliament and win majority to have a firm grip of power. Now it is getting less clear if this narrative could hold.