Yoshihide Suga, the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected Japan's prime minister by parliament today.
Suga received 314 votes in the 465-member House of Representatives and 142 votes in the 245-member House of Councillors, Japan News Agency (Kyodo) reported.
Health Minister Katsunobu Kato has been tapped to succeed Suga as chief Cabinet secretary.
Many other Cabinet members such as Finance Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi are expected to be retained.
Shinzo Abe's Cabinet resigned en masse Wednesday morning, drawing an end to the premier's record-long tenure of nearly eight years.
Suga will be the oldest prime minister to take office since Kiichi Miyazawa in 1991.
