Suga's Repeated Verbal Slip Shows "Lack of Leadership"

Rapid Decline in Approval Ratings Puts Verbal Slip-Ups Under Scrutiny

▲Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The approval rating of Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet has plummeted due to negative evaluations of the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and Prime Minister Suga's frequent verbal slips have also become a controversy.

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 19th, Prime Minister Suga caused controversy by saying "limited measures" instead of "thorough measures" regarding the COVID-19 state of emergency during the House of Councillors plenary session the previous day.

Prime Minister Suga also corrected himself by saying "elementary and junior high schools" instead of "elementary schools" when referring to "35-student classes."

Earlier, on the 13th, during a COVID-19 task force meeting, he misread Fukuoka Prefecture as Shizuoka Prefecture while announcing seven additional areas under the state of emergency.

Prime Minister Suga did not address this mistake during the press conference held immediately after the task force meeting, sparking criticism online that he was "untrustworthy" and causing further controversy.

There was also confusion during Prime Minister Suga's New Year's press conference on the 4th.

When asked about the timing of the House of Representatives election, Suga initially answered, "sometime in the fall," then corrected himself to "by the fall."

This was a post-facto correction limiting the dissolution of the House of Representatives to this fall.

Suzuki Sotomu, emeritus professor at Shingyu University and author of the book Japanese of Politicians, pointed out that "verbal slips indicate a lack of leadership."

At the launch of the Suga administration on September 16 last year, the cabinet's approval rating was in the 60-70% range, but it has recently fallen to the 30% range due to public dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 response.