Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga attends a news conference at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan on May 29, 2017. Photo: Reuters

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga intends to run in the ruling party leadership race to succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving premier, said on Friday he was stepping down due to a worsening of a chronic illness, setting the stage for a leadership election within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

While some other would-be successors have declared their intention to run, the 71-year-old Suga has said he doesn't want the job. 

"They are really going to try to get Suga to replace Abe and continue the Abe government without Abe," said Sophia University political science professor Koichi Nakano.

But such comments have been called into question by an aggressive media push in recent days that put him squarely in the public eye.

In an interview with Reuters this week, Suga stressed that the need to spur economic growth over tightening restrictions to contain the virus.

The interview, in which Suga again denied he wanted the job, was part of the publicity blitz before Abe announced his resignation.

Reuters