Suga bows out of party vote paving way for new Japan PM

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he won’t run for leadership of the governing party at the end of this month, paving the way for a new Japanese leader after just a year in office.

Suga told reporters he had originally planned to run in the Sept. 29 race to lead his governing Liberal Democratic Party, but that leading Japan’s pandemic response and campaigning for the LDP job at the same time divided his energies.