Yoshihide Suga elected Japan’s new prime minister

Yoshihide Suga was elected as Japan’s next prime minister by the country’s lower house of parliament on Wednesday, replacing Shinzo Abe who resigned because of poor health and promising to continue his signature economic policies.

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.