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Japan PM set to name new cabinet | |
(about 14 hours later) | |
Naoto Kan previously served as deputy PM and finance minister | |
Japan's new Prime Minister Naoto Kan is due to name his cabinet and be formally sworn in by Emperor Akihito. | |
Mr Kan was elected prime minister by lawmakers on Friday, two days after the abrupt resignation of Yukio Hatoyama. | Mr Kan was elected prime minister by lawmakers on Friday, two days after the abrupt resignation of Yukio Hatoyama. |
The former PM stepped down amid tensions over a controversial US military base on the island of Okinawa. | |
Mr Kan has assured President Barack Obama that he will relocate the base, as agreed, despite anger from locals who want it moved off Okinawa entirely. | |
Despite the unpopular move, Mr Kan enjoys poll ratings above 60% as his Democratic Party (DPJ) faces an election for the upper house next month. | |
Traditional ceremony | |
Japanese newspapers have welcomed the "son of a salary man" to the post of prime minister, contrasting his ordinary background to the privileged roots of recent prime ministers. | |
Mr Kan, who previously served as finance minister and deputy prime minister, is expected to gather his cabinet for its first meeting on Tuesday morning. | |
In keeping with tradition, ministers will don ceremonial tuxedos and go to the emperor's palace in central Tokyo to be formally sworn in. | |
Mr Kan is expected to retain many top ministers in his cabinet, including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa. | |
Yoshihiko Noda, his former deputy finance minister, is tipped to head the finance ministry. | |
On Monday, Mr Kan reshuffled the DJP party leadership. | |
He announced that Yukio Edano would take over as secretary general of the party, replacing the powerful Ichiro Ozawa, who stepped down last week. | |
Shinji Tarutoko, who challenged Mr Kan for the leadership, was named the DPJ's parliamentary affairs chief. |