Japan’s ruling party names new leaders

Japan's ruling party selected a fresh leadership line-up yesterday, clearing the way for Prime Minister-elect Naoto Kan to name a new Cabinet and begin tackling a host of delicate issues left over after the abrupt resignation of his predecessor.
Kan, who was elected prime minister in a parliamentary vote last week, will begin his tenure with a roster of new faces in the top party positions. But he was expected to retain most of the Cabinet of outgoing leader Yukio Hatoyama.
Kan, riding high on opinion poll ratings above 60 percent, pledged a fresh start yesterday on the eve of the formal inauguration of his centre-left government.
Kan -- who was voted in by parliament Friday and formally takes power Tuesday after his cabinet's inauguration by Emperor Akihito -- reshuffled the leadership of his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) on Monday.
Hatoyama stepped down last week after failing to keep a campaign promise to move a US military base off the southern island of Okinawa. The move was sudden but not completely unexpected with crucial elections in the upper house of parliament scheduled for next month, many in the party felt his plunging popularity would make him a major liability at the polls.
Kan was to name his Cabinet and be formally sworn in by Emperor Akihito in a ceremony on Tuesday.
The biggest change in Kan's administration will be Yukio Edano, who served as reform minister and will take over as the ruling Democratic Party's secretary general. That post was previously held by the powerful but unpopular Ichiro Ozawa, who also announced his resignation last week, over a funding scandal. Ozawa has high disapproval ratings among the public, and he, too, was seen as baggage going into the elections.