Professor Emeritus Gerald Curtis was quoted in The New York Times and the Washington Post about potential successors to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who recently announced he was stepping down for health reasons.
In an August 31 article in the Times, Curtis suggested that Japan’s next leader would most likely stick to the script left by Abe.
“‘Mr. Abe’s resignation happened so suddenly that no one has an agenda, has a strategy, has thought about how they’re going to run this government,’ said Gerald L. Curtis, a professor emeritus of political science at Columbia University.
‘They’ll try to do things to get the economy coming back after it’s been hit so hard,” he said. “But new ideas? New policies? I don’t think so. It will be a continuation of Abe’s policies, no matter who it is,'” the article said.
Responding to speculation that current Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is poised to take the job, the Washington Post released an article on September 1, exploring Suga’s career and reputation within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Speaking to the Post, Professor Curtis highlighted challenges Suga would face in the role.
“If he wins, Suga’s first challenges will be to show he is fully in command, and to communicate more effectively with the public. But his image — as a ‘sober and mature Mr. Fixit'” — could be an advantage in a crisis, Curtis said.”
