Yoshihide Suga became Japan's first new prime minister in nearly eight years on Wednesday pledging to contain COVID-19 and strengthen ties with the U.S., China, and Russia at the same time.

Seeming to play down the possibility of an early election, he said what the Japanese most wanted was to contain the coronavirus outbreak and revive the battered economy.

"My cabinet that was established today will make the utmost effort to first tackle this issue," he told reporters at a news conference.

Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, resigned because of ill health after nearly eight years in office.

About half of the new cabinet are carryovers from Abe. Only two are women and the average age, including Suga, is 60. Finance Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stayed on, as did Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the youngest in the cabinet at 39.

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