Japanese Parliament Backs Noda as Prime Minister

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

TOKYO — Yoshihiko Noda, a down-to-earth fiscal conservative, was elected prime minister by the Japanese Parliament on Tuesday in the sixth change of leaders in five years, a period of mounting economic and social challenges to the world’s third-largest economy.

Mr. Noda, the finance minister under the outgoing prime minister, Naoto Kan, takes the post with Japan fighting to recover from a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in March, on top of an economy weakened by persistent deflation, the recent global economic turmoil and growing concerns over the country’s burgeoning debt.

In his previous role, he orchestrated multiple interventions in currency markets to weaken a strong yen that has battered Japanese exporters.

The son of a paratrooper in the Japanese army, Mr. Noda had kept a relatively low profile within the Democratic Party. Now 54, he is known for a steady hand in policymaking, as well as self-deprecating jokes: in a speech before Monday’s ballot, he compared himself to a loach, an eel-like, bottom-feeding fish with whiskers.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/world/asia/31japan.html

[BNJMN]

1. So...he's a centrist Democrat?

I was scratching my head with the initial 'fiscal conservative' label.
Which, I'm guessing, was the bait to lure my attention for this article.

Japanese Democratic Party Platform:

"We stand for those who have been excluded by the structure of vested interests, those who work hard and pay taxes, and for people who strive for independence despite difficult circumstances. In other words, we represent citizens, taxpayers, and consumers. We do not seek a panacea either in the free market or in the welfare state. Rather, we shall build a new road of the democratic center toward a society in which self-reliant individuals can mutually coexist and the government's role is limited to building the necessary systems.<4>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Japan#Political_standpoint