Yoshihide Suga officially named as Shinzo Abe's new Prime Minister of Japan
Japan's parliament has elected Yoshihide Suga as the country's new prime minister, following the resignation of Shinzo Abe.
After winning the leadership of the governing party earlier this week, Wednesday's vote confirms the former Chief Cabinet Secretary's new position.
Yoshihide Suga has been elected Japan's new Prime Minister following a vote in the country's Parliament on Wednesday, confirming the former cardboard factory worker and farmer's son as leader of the world's third largest economy.
A close ally of Mr Abe, the new prime minister is expected to continue his predecessor's policies.
Shinzo Abe announced his resignation last month citing ill health.
The 71-year-old head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) replaces outgoing leader Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving Prime Minister, who announced his intention to resign in August due to health problems related to colitis -- a non-curable inflammatory bowel disease that he was able to manage for most of his tenure.
Suga was elected LDP leader on Monday with about 70% of the votes, but he still required the backing of the country's national legislature, the Diet, before he could officially become Prime Minister.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Abe held his final cabinet meeting and told reporters he was proud of his achievements during his nearly eight years in power.
Mr Suga then easily won a poll for prime minister in the Diet, Japan's lower house, receiving 314 out of 462 votes.
Given that a coalition headed by his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) holds the majority in the house, his win was widely expected.
Along with his new cabinet he will later be ceremonially endorsed by the emperor at the Imperial Palace.
The new Prime Minister will next announce his cabinet line up, which is expected to include a large number of former Abe appointees, before being sworn in by Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon.
The appointment of Suga as Abe's replacement isn't surprising. Suga was the former Japanese leader's right-hand man during Abe's almost eight years in office throughout his second term, holding the important position of chief cabinet secretary in his government -- a combination of chief of staff and press secretary.
Suga is known as a successful political operator, who can get things done, and worked hand-in-hand with the former leader to implement "Abenomics" -- a series of economic policies designed to boost Japan's flagging economy.
In fact, Suga is so closely tied to the former Prime Minister that Kazuto Suzuki, a vice dean and professor of international politics at Hokkaido University, described him as an "Abe substitute."
Troubles ahead
Freshly established in Japan's top job, Suga is already facing a number of significant challenges. Although a second wave of coronovirus infection has been brought under control mostly in the country, the disease is still causing major disruption to the local and global economy.
In August, Japan reported its worst decline in record GDP due to the global epidemic, shrinking the economy by 7.8% in the second quarter of 2020.
Tokyo is still scheduled to hold the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, although questions remain around whether or not the global pandemic will have been brought under control in time.
Japan is also facing major long-term economic and social issues, such as massive government debt and an aging population. Despite Abe's public calls for reforms for gender equality in the workplace, critics say not enough progress was made during his time in government.
Suga will also face a referendum on his new government soon which he would have liked. The Prime Minister should hold another general election by October 2021, although Defense Minister Taro Kono said on Wednesday that snap elections could be called early next month.
