Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga won a landslide victory in the leadership election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party today. He got 377 votes out of the 534 votes cast. former defence minister Rival Shigeru Ishiba for 68 votes while ex-Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida got 89.
Suga will become the next Prime Minister in the parliamentary vote on Wednesday with virtually no doubt. For now, he’s expected to serve out out-going Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remaining term through September 2021. But a snap election is a possibility for the new PM.
For the markets, most importantly, Suga has indicated that he would continue with the signature “Abenomics”, suggesting continuity with the currency economic policies.
