Bangladesh, Sept. 14 -- Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new head of Japan's ruling party on Liberal Democratic Party on Monday, which virtually guarantees him parliamentary election as the country's next prime minister.

Suga received 377 votes in the election to pick a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, reports AP.

The other two contenders former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida received a combined 157 votes.

Abe announced last month that he would resign on health grounds.

The expected victory in the party vote by Suga, the current chief Cabinet secretary, all but guarantees his election in a parliamentary vote Wednesday because of the majority held by the Liberal Democrats' ruling coali...