Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), on Monday elected Yoshihide Suga as its new leader to succeed Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation due to health reasons. Suga, 71, currently serves as Chief Cabinet Secretary and is almost certain to become the country's next prime minister. Now that the conservative party has chosen its new leader, there will be another vote on Wednesday in parliament, where Suga’s victory is widely expected given the LDP's majority.Considered a close ally of Abe, Suga is likely to continue his predecessor's policies.