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Politics
Naoto Kan Elected Prime Minister
Friday, June 4, 2010
Kan Selected as Prime Minister
Tokyo -- Naoto Kan defeated newcomer Shinji Tarutoko in DPJ presidential elections to become the 61st man to hold the office of prime minister of Japan.
Kan won the vote handily, as expected, but Tarutoko made a reasonably strong showing. The tally was 291-to-129 in Kan's favor.
It was then a mere formality when the DPJ-dominated Diet voted along party lines for Naoto Kan to succeed Yukio Hatoyama as the nation's premier.
Naoto Kan, 63, is a tenth-term Diet member who has served in three cabinet posts and has twice before been leader of the DPJ (of which he was a co-founder). Several dozen DPJ lawmakers are identified as being followers of Kan.
Unlike other recent prime ministers, Kan is not the scion of any political dynasty, describing himself as simply the son of an average salaryman.
Kan is sometimes criticized for having a temper and for sleeping during Diet debates, but the DPJ has usually done well under his leadership.
Ideologically, he tends to be liberal.
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