Suga Takes Office With Third-Best Support for New Japan Premier
- Nikkei newspaper poll shows support for Suga at about 74%
- Suga pledges to tackle virus and continuity on economy
Yoshihide Suga speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Sept. 16.
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New Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga posted the third-highest support rate recorded for a premier entering office, with voters backing his pledges of continuity for managing a virus-hit economy, polls showed.
Suga’s government -- which took office this week -- had a support rate of 74%, the Nikkei newspaper said in a survey released Friday. That’s behind only the 80% Junichiro Koizumi secured when he took over as prime minister in 2001, and 75% for Yukio Hatoyama, who assumed office in 2009 as his Democratic Party ousted the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party.