Fumio Kishida elected as Japan's new prime minister

The former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Japan, Taro Kono, also fought for the post. 170 people voted for him.

Earlier, Yoshihide Suga, who replaced Shinzo Abe as prime minister, said that he would not participate in the election of the head of the ruling LDP party, since he decided to focus on measures to combat COVID-19.

Recall that at the end of August, Suga said that the country's authorities plan to vaccinate 60% of citizens from coronavirus infection by October.

Japan is currently experiencing its worst COVID-29 outbreak. In the days leading up to the start of the Paralympic Games, almost all intensive care beds in Tokyo hospitals were occupied. Politicians and academics cannot agree on whether the Olympics influenced this.