Japan's finance minister to become latest PM

Japan's premier-designate Yoshihiko Noda yesterday vowed a safe pair of hands in rebuilding the country from its tsunami-nuclear disasters after he was elected the ruling party chief.
The low-key, business-friendly finance minister is set to be confirmed as prime minister today by parliament, replacing the unpopular Naoto Kan to become the debt-laden nation's sixth new leader in five years.
Known as a fiscal hawk, 54-year-old Noda has described himself as an ordinary man and pledged a moderate "middle-of-the-road" politics, while also promising to unite his divided Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
Likening himself to a modest marine creature rather than a charismatic political star, Noda said in a final campaign appeal to DPJ lawmakers on yesterday: "I am a loach. I can't be a goldfish."
His election may cause ripples among Japan's neighbours following his recent comments on the country's World War II history.
Noda sparked a strong response from South Korea weeks ago when he said on the anniversary of Japan's 1945 surrender that Class-A war criminals convicted by an Allied tribunal were in fact not war criminals.
In Japan, the focus is on the pressing tasks of rebuilding after the March 11 calamity, ending the Fukushima nuclear crisis, revitalising a stagnant economy and addressing the industrialised world's largest public debt.
The country is still struggling to resolve the Fukushima disaster after reactor meltdowns forced more than 80,000 people from their homes and contaminated wide stretches of farmland, causing national food scares.