Tokyo | Yoshihide Suga was voted Prime Minister by parliament's lower house on Wednesday, becoming the country's first new leader in nearly eight years, as he readied a "continuity cabinet" expected to keep about half of predecessor Shinzo Abe's line-up.
Mr Suga, 71, Mr Abe's long-time right-hand man, has pledged to pursue many of Mr Abe's programs, including his signature "Abenomics" economic strategy, and to forge ahead with structural reforms, including deregulation and streamlining bureaucracy.
