Japan's parliament elected Shinzo Abe as its new prime minister on September 26, succeeding the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi. Abe, 52, was assured of the leadership after he convincingly won the race for president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on September 20. Abe now finds himself running a nation that faces both encouraging economic news and important political challenges. After five and a half years at the helm, Koizumi generally was credited for bringing the world's second-biggest economy out of its malaise.