Yoshihide Suga, 71, was elected as Japan’s prime minister by the powerful House of Representatives on Wednesday. He is also the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party(LDP).
Suga received 314 votes in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of parliament’s two chambers. His victory is also assured in the House of Councillors given that the ruling coalition of the LDP and junior partner Komeito has a majority in both chambers. He will form a cabinet later in the day.
He has vowed to revive the decelerating economy while also keeping Coronavirus in check. Suga has pledged to push forward with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies such as “Abenomics,” a mix of measures aimed at beating deflation and spurring growth in the world’s third-largest economy.
He will also take over a sweeping review of Japan’s national security policy that was initiated by Abe after plans to introduce a U.S.-developed missile defence system were scrapped due to technical issues.
