Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to stick to the vital Japan-U.S. alliance while calling for it to be more equitable after he took office Tuesday vowing to tackle a slow economy and regain public trust before an upcoming election.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resigned with his Cabinet, paving the way for his likely successor Shigeru Ishiba to take office.Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced that Kishida and his ministers stepped down at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

Japan's parliament formally elected Shigeru Ishiba as the country's prime minister to replace Fumio Kishida, whose administration was rocked by scandals.