Japan’s Suga wins ruling party leadership race to replace Abe

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga smiles during his regular news conference at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, September 14, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO — Japan’s Yoshihide Suga, a long-time ally of outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, won a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election on Monday, paving the way for him to become prime minister in a parliamentary vote this week.

Suga, 71, who served in the powerful post of chief cabinet secretary during Abe’s nearly eight-year tenure, has said he will pursue his predecessor’s “Abenomics” recipe of hyper-easy monetary policy, government spending and reform and follow a diplomatic line centered on the U.S.-Japan security alliance.