Japan’s outgoing prime minister gave his successor, Fumio Kishida, a gift.
In one of his last acts, Yoshihide Suga will lift emergency pandemic restrictions that have hampered the country’s most economically vital regions. It gets progressively harder for the new leader from there.
Kishida emerged from a four-way ballot Wednesday to become leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, making him a shoo-in as prime minister when parliament gets its say next week. Suga is resigning after a surge in COVID-19 infections and a stop-start economic recovery made him an electoral liability for the LDP after just a year in the job.