Japan’s parliament elected Yoshihide Suga as new prime minister on Wednesday, after Shinzo Abe resigned due to his poor health.
The 71-year-old Suga – the son of a strawberry farmer – won the leadership contest of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Monday and was all but assured the top job when his appointment went to a vote in parliament given the party’s two-thirds majority.
After years of economic stagnation and already struggling with the long-term effects of the world’s most elderly population – Japan has been dealt a severe blow by COVID-19.
The world’s third-largest economy shrank a record 27.8 percent from April to June this year compared with the previous quarter due to pandemic-related lockdowns that were only relaxed in late May.
Unlike his predecessors, Suga does not come from a privileged background and rose to the top of the LDP without belonging to any of its powerful factions.
