JAPAN: Yoshihiko Noda officially becomes Japan's sixth Prime Minister in five years

Record ID: 464222

  • Title: JAPAN: Yoshihiko Noda officially becomes Japan's sixth Prime Minister in five years
  • Date: 3rd September 2011
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 2, 2011) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOPHIA UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE KOICHI NAKANO SAYING: "You're basically going to have the same DPJ government turning into an LDP government, and it's going to use methods that are tested and have worked in the past. Terribly time-consuming, but it starts with a round of administrative reform, government expenditure cuts, and then after that you say 'Well, we suffered the pain, so please you ordinary people pay more." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SOPHIA UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE KOICHI NAKANO SAYING: "It's a very well balanced cabinet, leaving aside my own personal policy views and what I think about the priorities of Japan, I think it's a very well made cabinet. For internal unity of the party, I think that Noda is off to a good start looking at the cabinet appointments." BUILDINGS AND PEOPLE WALKING ACROSS STREET AROUND TOKYO STATION PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 22-YEAR-OLD ACCOUNTANT YUUTA SHIMADA SAYING: "As it's a new prime minister, I do indeed hope that he's able to do something new as well. Since I'm still relatively young, while I do understand there needs to be short-term reconstruction for the disaster areas I hope that he also works to help Japan's long-term problems as well." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 24-YEAR-OLD REALTOR MASAYA KATAYAMA "It's a very tough situation, especially if you compare it overseas. I think that once someone is elected, then they should indeed serve out their full term." PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 29-YEAR-OLD SECRETARY YUMI NAKAGAWA SAYING: "It's hard to trust anyone anymore. No matter who becomes prime minister, I don't feel that anything will actually improve." MORE OF PEOPLE WALKING
  • Embargoed: 18th September 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADZFJH0WZ3MI59G7VYU4Z9HBGK
  • Story Text: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda received the final stamp of approval from Emperor Akihito on Friday (September 2) which marked the official start to the tenure of Japan's sixth prime minister in five years.
    Although Noda compares himself to an eel-like fish and admits his looks won't get him anywhere in popularity contests, many say his calm and expertise are exactly what the nation needs now, at a time of crisis.
    Previously, Noda was the finance minister in Prime Minister Naoto Kan's cabinet.
    His new job starts just as Japan deals with the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and a meltdown at a nuclear power station.
    The 54-year-old judo practitioner is considered a safe pair of hands and a stabilising influence after Kan's sometimes erratic and divisive rule.
    But doubts run deep about whether his party will be able to produce the initiatives needed, or return to some of the old and tired methods of government.
    "You're basically going to have the same DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan) government turning into an LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) government, and it's going to use methods that are tested and have worked in the past. Terribly time-consuming, but it starts with a round of administrative reform, government expenditure cuts, and then after that you say 'Well, we suffered the pain, so please you ordinary people pay more," said Koichi Nakano, Sophia University, associate professor of political science.
    Nevertheless, Nakano said the cabinet line up looked good.
    "It's a very well balanced cabinet, leaving aside my own personal policy views and what I think about the priorities of Japan, I think it's a very well made cabinet. For internal unity of the party, I think that Noda is off to a good start looking at the cabinet appointments," Nakano said.
    On the streets of Tokyo, residents expressed mixed views.
    "As it's a new prime minister, I do indeed hope that he's able to do something new as well. Since I'm still relatively young, while I do understand there needs to be short-term reconstruction for the disaster areas I hope that he also works to help Japan's long-term problems as well," said 22-year-old Yuuta Shimada.
    Many people however were disillusioned by the Japanese political system as a whole.
    "It's a very tough situation, especially if you compare it overseas. I think that once someone is elected, then they should indeed serve out their full term," said 24 year old Masaya Katayama.
    "It's hard to trust anyone anymore. No matter who becomes prime minister, I don't feel that anything will actually improve," added 29-year old Yumi Nakagawa.
    A fan of pro-wrestling, Noda has projected an image of a straight shooter, saying he is not good at playing "underhanded tricks" in politics.
    Ahead of the leadership vote, the stocky lawmaker compared himself to a "dojo" loach fish -- an eel-like deep sea inhabitant.
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