Japan likely to get new PM as Yoshihide Suga bows out of party vote
Tokyo(AP): Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga won't run for the leadership of the governing party, indicating he will step down as Japanese leader at the end of this month, a party official said Friday.
Suga told executives of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday that he will not run in the leadership race set for Sept 29, LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai told reporters.
LDP has the majority in Parliament, meaning the new government leader likely will be whoever is elected the party's leader.
The move is largely a political decision so the LDP can have a fresh leader before national elections later this year. The lower house term ends in late October and elections for the new Parliament must be held by late November.
Suga has faced criticism and nosediving support ratings over slow coronavirus measures and holding the Olympics despite the public's health concerns.
Suga took office in mid-September a year ago after his predecessor Shinzo Abe resigned due to health problems.
Suga, the son of a strawberry farmer from Japan's northern prefecture of Akita, enjoyed support ratings as high as 70 per cent early in his tenure because he was a leader from the common people rather than blue-blood political families like Abe.
Suga introduced a series of pragmatic measures including digital transformation and administrative reforms, but his support ratings slid quickly over his virus measures seen as too slow and too small to prevent growing outbreaks. In the latest media surveys, support ratings have declined to around 26 per cent.
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Four arrested, minor detained for killing teenager in UP's Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur (UP)(PTI) Police on Tuesday arrested four persons and detained a boy in connection with the killing of a teenager at a school here, officials said.
The arrested accused have been identified as Dayanand alias Chhotu, Hrithik Roshan alias Roshan, Uday alias Kishan Kumar and Deepak, all residents of Pipraich police station area here and aged 19-20, the police officials said.
The detained minor will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, they said.
Police recovered a country-made pistol and a motorcycle allegedly used by the accused in the commission of the crime, they added.
Superintendent of Police (North) Gyanendra Nath Prasad said the arrests were made following sustained investigation and technical surveillance, and further legal proceedings were underway.
According to police, Sudhir Bharti (17), a class 11 student, was shot dead by the accused on December 26 over old enmity and a dispute triggered by social media posts in the playground of a school in the Pipraich area here.
Based on the complaint filed by Bharti's family, a case was registered under sections 103(1) (punishment for murder) and 61(2) (party to a criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Arms Act.
According to eyewitnesses, Bharti was in the playground when he had an argument with a person from the same neighbourhood.
The argument escalated and the accused shot him with a country-made pistol, killing him on the spot, they said.
