He is miles ahead of Ishiba
Ishiba is an uber rightwing, fascist nut
He is an active member of the Nippon Kaigi, an ultra rightwing, militaristic organization formed in the late 90's which has many stated goals, two of which are, are Japan building nuclear weapons and a return to the pre-WW2 monarchy system
Ishiba isn't quite that extreme, as he isn't sure Japan needs to actually have nuclear weapons
He has supported pre-emptive strikes on North Korea which, given his politics and ideology, is a little understanding since his area is likely one of the places North Korea would strike
He is from Tottori and many people living there have the same politics as some of the militia types in the US
While it may not be the most Democratic thing to lock that nut out, it is probably best for Japan
He'd clash with both Biden and Trump
I am so glad I live in Kanagawa and nowhere near his constituency
Kishida is also a member of Nippon Kaiga, but he is far more moderate than Ishiba (which isn't difficult). Kishida counts among his friends former U.S. President Obama
A quote about Kishida, "Kishida is for peacetime, not for troubled times."
Suga is from our prefecture (Kanagawa). He represents the 2nd district (Yokohama)
He is a hard worker. He actually gets out and really campaigns.
He has been referred to as the Street-Corner Politician.
He gets out and meets people, talks with them and seems to listen
In the 80's, while running for city council, he used to go through apt complex's, knock on every door and talk with anyone and everyone.
He was the first politician in Japan to campaign in front of train stations
He was the main person in creating the 'Hometown Donation' law, which gave a tax write off to people who donated to their local government -- we have taken that write off both times
Suga is more about the economy than anything. He was a soft supporter of the Revision to Article 9. Which, according to my friends here means, he didn't actually support it, but said nothing because you don't undermine Abe (unless you're his wife)
Suga was the architect of bringing in foreigners to fill low-skilled jobs, instead of letting them be treated as interns.
He has been Abe's key deputy in combating Covid-19 in Japan. And it has been largely successful.
There are some issues, of course. Most people remember his publicly encouraging Japanese women to "contribute to their country" by having more children.
Also, he has had some fairly shady associates while in government.
Most people I know believe he would be the best person of the 3 to work with Biden. Kishida would be second.
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