Japan's New Leader
“Japan's Naoto Kan has stepped down as prime minister and been replaced by former finance minister Yoshihiko Noda. A fiscal conservative and self-described as having little public support, Prime Minister Noda is the sixth Japanese prime minister in the last five years,” says Michael Kulma, Asia Society’s Executive Director for Global Leadership Initiatives. “As with his predecessor, Prime Minister Noda is faced with a slow growing economy and the aftermath of the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crises that plagued the previous administration. But perhaps most worrisome for him and Japanese politics in general is a recent poll suggesting that public support for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan was at 21 percent, public support for the opposition Liberal Democratic Party was at 23 percent, and that a whopping 46 percent supported no party. Worrying numbers at a critical time for Japan.”
Mike is in New York. To arrange an interview, contact the Asia Society communications department at 212-327-9271 or [email protected]