Yoshihiko Noda became Japan’s sixth new prime minister in five years Tuesday, inheriting an in-tray groaning with disaster recovery, nuclear crisis and economic gloom in the ageing, debt-choked nation.
The outgoing finance minister takes the place of Naoto Kan, who resigned after just 15 months in office with rock-bottom poll ratings, perpetuating the country’s chronic revolving-door leadership at a time of national crisis. Noda became his centre-left party’s third premier, two years to the day since it won a landslide election that ended a half-century of conservative rule — and at a time of deep voter disenchantment with all major parties. He was elected premier by both houses of parliament a day after winning a party leadership battle that was fought along factional lines rather than on the five candidates’ policy positions or their voter popularity. Noda, a 54-year-old who was relatively unknown to the electorate, conceded that, based on his looks and charisma, he would not win many votes, instead painting himself as moderate and steadfast, if a little bland.
In a display of humility, Noda stressed that he is an ordinary man without political star power or looks, and promised to be a peacemaker who will unite the deeply divided party and seek to engage the opposition. The DPJ is deeply split between backers and enemies of scandal-tainted powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa. Noda won the poll after anti-Ozawa factions settled on him as a compromise choice to defeat their opponent’s candidate.
As Noda puts together his new cabinet and DPJ leadership team, he is approaching figures from the Ozawa camp, according to media reports, in a bid to heal the rifts and focus on the tough challenges ahead.
The list of problems would be daunting for even the boldest of leaders. Half a year after Japan was hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami, the Fukushima nuclear crisis continues, and operator Tokyo Electric Power Company is struggling to bring the reactors to cold shutdown by January.
The radiation that has escaped from its reactors has driven more than 80,000 people from their homes, made some rural areas uninhabitable for years, and contaminated food supplies, some of which have entered the market.
The disaster hit at a time when Japan, a rapidly ageing society, has been stuck in cycles of slow economic growth and deflation for two decades.
The country faces a public debt mountain twice the size of the $5-trillion economy, the legacy of years of stimulus spending, and the bill is set to grow as Japan rebuilds its disaster-hit areas. On top of these woes, the economy has been hit by a strong yen, which has soared to post-war highs as a safe haven currency amid global market turmoil, hurting Japan’s exporters by making their goods less competitive.
