MNI POLICY: LDP Head Suga Elected As Japan PM

Yoshihide Suga, the new president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected prime minister at an extraordinary Diet session on Wednesday, as the ruling coalition holds majorities of both houses of parliament.

Suga will form a cabinet and he can stay in office until September 2021.

Finance Minister Taro Aso is expected to remain in office, local media reported, and the 71-year-old Suga is widely expected to continue with the economic policies of former prime minister Shinzo Abe's administration, having said the government will compile additional economic stimulus measures, if needed.

"I want to continue Abenomics and enhance it," Suga has said in recent days. He has also expressed support for keeping Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda's ultra-easy monetary policy and his policy of achieving the 2% price target.

Suga has said he would create a central agency to handle Japan's digitalization, and improve competition in the telecommunications industry to lower mobile phone rates -- a crusade that began when he was minister of internal affairs and communications. He is also eager to reorganize the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and consolidate regional banks after becoming Japan's prime minister.

He is keen to see mergers of smaller banks struggling with a sluggish domestic economy and ultralow interest rates, having noted recently that there may be "too many" regional banks for the future, adding that "(Bank) consolidation is an option."