Japan's new prime minister is finance minister Yoshihiko Noda
Elected President of the Democratic Party he will also take over the leadership of the country. The appointment should be ratified by Parliament tomorrow. He is the sixth prime minister in five years and will have to address the economic crisis and the Fukushima emergency, as well as post earthquake reconstruction.
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is Yoshihiko Noda, the current finance minister and successor of former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who resigned on August 26. As per established practice, the president-elect of the majority party in Parliament will also be the new prime minister of Japan. He will be the sixth chief of the executive in five years and will have to face - more decisively than his predecessor - the economic crisis that has hit the country and the Fukushima nuclear power plant emergency.
In the race for the premiership Yoshihiko Noda defeated the Minister for Commerce Banri Kaieda, after a first vote in which no candidate had won a solid majority. Tomorrow, Parliament should ratify his appointment at the helm of Japan. Noda, 54, won 215 votes, against his challenger’s 177. The main candidate for the leadership - Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara - was eliminated on the first ballot.
The new Prime Minister will also have the responsibility of overseeing the reconstruction of entire swathes of the east coast, damaged by the powerful earthquake of 11 March. The earthquake also generated a giant tsunami, which damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, followed by the leakage of nuclear material which is still ongoing. Added to the nuclear emergency is the economic crisis, which has also affected Japan.
The first comments from political and financial experts in the Land of the Rising Sun are marked by scepticism. A recent editorial in the Tokyo Shimbun says that the Kan administration had led the nation "into a sort of dead end", but with his resignation and the formation of a new government, "hopes, frankly, are no greater".
The Democrats took over power two years ago, promising a series of changes of government after decades of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Internal divisions, a stalemate in Parliament at a time of grave economic crisis and the disastrous earthquake that struck in March last year - 20 thousand dead or missing - has weakened hopes of transforming the country.
In the race for the premiership Yoshihiko Noda defeated the Minister for Commerce Banri Kaieda, after a first vote in which no candidate had won a solid majority. Tomorrow, Parliament should ratify his appointment at the helm of Japan. Noda, 54, won 215 votes, against his challenger’s 177. The main candidate for the leadership - Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara - was eliminated on the first ballot.
The new Prime Minister will also have the responsibility of overseeing the reconstruction of entire swathes of the east coast, damaged by the powerful earthquake of 11 March. The earthquake also generated a giant tsunami, which damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, followed by the leakage of nuclear material which is still ongoing. Added to the nuclear emergency is the economic crisis, which has also affected Japan.
The first comments from political and financial experts in the Land of the Rising Sun are marked by scepticism. A recent editorial in the Tokyo Shimbun says that the Kan administration had led the nation "into a sort of dead end", but with his resignation and the formation of a new government, "hopes, frankly, are no greater".
The Democrats took over power two years ago, promising a series of changes of government after decades of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Internal divisions, a stalemate in Parliament at a time of grave economic crisis and the disastrous earthquake that struck in March last year - 20 thousand dead or missing - has weakened hopes of transforming the country.
.png)
See also
Ranil Wickremesinghe to be Sri Lanka’s next prime minister
12/05/2022 19:04
12/05/2022 19:04
Parliament saves Prayut, but street protests continue
04/09/2021 12:59
04/09/2021 12:59
