Suga wins Japanese ruling party leadership election

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has won a landslide victory in a ruling party leadership election, Reuters reported.

Suga’s victory in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party vote virtually guarantees his election in a parliamentary vote Wednesday.

Suga, 71, has been an important figure in outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration,

Suga, 71, who has promised to continue Abe’s main policies, said his big win would give him the backing to pursue his reform goals.

“As I got big support in numbers today, the environment in which I can pursue my policy agenda in a stable manner has been secured,” Suga said in the Reuters report.