The parliamentarians of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ in power) were elected on Friday, Finance Minister Naoto Kan post new party leader to succeed Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who resigned.
Mr Kan was elected leader of the DPJ by 291 votes to 129 against, at a meeting of the 423 parliamentary party in both houses of the Japanese Parliament.
The DPJ’s new president is certain to become the new prime minister of Japan since the party and its allies hold a majority in the powerful lower house.
Born in 1946 in the city of Ube (Yamaguchi Prefecture), Mr Kan of the DPJ had presided September 28, 1996 to September 25, 1999 and December 10, 2002 to May 18, 2004.
Member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Japanese Parliament, since 1980, he became known as Minister of Health and Social Affairs in the first government of Ryutaro Hashimoto from January 11 to November 7, 1996.
He is Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Economic and Fiscal Policy Yukio Hatoyama Cabinet since September 16, 2009. It combines these features with those of the National Strategy and the Science and Technology Policy until January 7, 2010 and, from that date, including that of Minister of Finance.
Yukio Hatoyama and members of his cabinet resigned en bloc on Friday morning.
Mr. Hatoyama announced his resignation on Wednesday, bowing to pressure from his party following its poor handling of the relocation of a U.S. base in Okinawa and a scandal over political funding.