FE Today Logo

Suga formally voted in as Japanese PM

Hasina greets her new Japanese counterpart


September 17, 2020 00:00:00


Japan's Yoshihide Suga was voted prime minister by parliament's lower house on Wednesday, becoming the country's first new leader in nearly eight years, as he readied a "continuity cabinet" expected to keep about half of predecessor Shinzo Abe's lineup, report agencies.

Suga, 71, Abe's longtime right-hand man, has pledged to pursue many of Abe's programmes, including his signature "Abenomics" economic strategy, and to forge ahead with structural reforms, including deregulation and streamlining bureaucracy.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has congratulated the newly-elected Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga.

PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said the prime minister extended the warmest greetings to the new Japanese premier through a congratulatory message.

"On behalf of the government and people of Bangladesh and my behalf, I would like to extend our heartiest congratulations and warmest felicitations on Your Excellency's appointment as the Prime Minister of Japan," Sheikh Hasina said in the message.

"Your (Yoshihide Suga) election is the testimony of your dynamic leadership, tenacity, and trust by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the people of Japan," she said.

The prime minister said: "The people of Bangladesh join the friendly people of Japan at this august moment to appraise your pledges in keeping a good balance between fighting the coronavirus pandemic and promoting economic activities.

"The people of Bangladesh also values to carry out your visionary policies relating to the welfare of the Japanese people, and positive gesture towards regional and international peace," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh and Japan enjoy a trusted friendship and robust bilateral relations since Bangladesh's independence in 1971.


Share if you like