Son of a strawberry farmer and a school teacher from rural northern Japan, Yoshihide Suga is set to become Japan’s next prime minister.

On September 9, the 71-year old, Suga swept an election for the leadership of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) becoming the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Further Suga is expected to take the helm at a critical moment when the country has been hit by a pandemic and economic slump and is grappling with national security issues.