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Japan has a new Prime Minister in Suga, but Abe’s policies likely to continue
The Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Presidential election is over and as expected, Suga Yoshihide has been elected as the party boss, replacing Shinzo Abe, the outgoing party president and the prime minister. Suga, a dark horse until the last moment, has now emerged as the central figure in Japanese politics. Technically, he has been elected for only one year covering the remaining period of Abe’s tenure until September 2021. This has made some commentators describe him as a stop-gap party president. But the overwhelming support from five major mainstream factions that was demonstrated at the election indicates ... (full story)