TOKYO -- Yoshihide Suga, who belongs to neither a faction of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party nor a family of politicians, has become the country's 99th prime minister.
Suga is a unique Japanese leader in that most of the LDP prime ministers in recent years, including his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, were political heavyweights affiliated with a specific LDP faction. These still serve as important vehicles to distribute money and posts among its members.
