Shinzo Abe (52) was elected Japan's prime minister by parliament today and becomes the youngest Japanese leader since World War Two.
The hawkish Mr Abe, a relative novice by Japanese political standards, faces the challenges of repairing ties with China - frayed by predecessor Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine - and keeping economic reforms on track while addressing voter concerns about widening social gaps.
Mr Abe, elected president of the governing Liberal Democratic Party last week, bowed to applause after being chosen prime minister by parliament's powerful lower house.
Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe
He will announce his cabinet later in the day.
A soft-spoken, popular lawmaker whose grandfather was also prime minister, Mr Abe has pledged to rewrite Japan's pacifist constitution, boost Tokyo's role in global affairs, and revive respect for traditional values and pride in Japan's past.
He has also promised to nurture growth while pushing ahead with the economic reforms begun by Mr Koizumi, and give precedence to spending cuts before tax rises in the struggle to rein in Japan's huge public debt, the biggest among advanced countries.