Yoshihide Suga Formally Elected As Japan's New Prime Minister, To Succeed Abe As Nation's First New Leader In 8 Years

Yoshihide Suga who was a close aide of Shinzo Abe has been elected as Japan's new Prime Minister. He will be the country's first new leader in eight years.

(Photo by STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP) / Japan OUT

New Delhi: Yoshihide Suga has been elected as the new Japanese Prime Minister in parliamentary vote. Earlier today, Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet resigned making way to the successor Suga. He is the country’s first new leader in eight years. Last month, Abe who was Japan's longest-serving prime minister, announced that he was stepping down because of health problems. Suga, who was the Chief Cabinet Secretary and a close aide of Abe was chosen as the successor and head of the governing Liberal Democratic Party. As per the Washington Post, Suga comes from a humble background. His father was a strawberry farmer and a teacher and worked in a factory after high school. He was a loyal supporter of Abe and has been his right-hand man for nearly eight years. He also won the support of the LDP's two largest factions -Abe's 98-member Hosoda faction and the group led by Finance Minister Taro Aso. Suga has emphasised his humble background and said that he will serve the interests of ordinary people especially those in rural areas. He has also said that his biggest priority will be the coronavirus pandemic and turning the economy around and stated that will pursue Abe's unfinished policies. Last month, 65-year-old Shinzo Abe resigned due to health concerns. He was one of the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history but his popularity had fallen to about 30 percent in recent opinion polls due to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic besides scandals among ruling party members.