Japan's Finance Minister Noda to Become PM

TOKYO, KOMPAS.com - Japan’s Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda was elected head of the centre-left ruling party on Monday and therefore set to become the country’s sixth new prime minister in five years.

Noda gained 215 votes in the second-round ballot of the Democratic Party of Japan against the trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda, who won 177 out of the 392 valid lawmakers’ votes.

Noda is seen more likely than Kaieda to tackle Japan’s massive public debt, which is double the size of the $5 trillion economy, and he has been financial markets’ preferred candidate to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan.