Japan's new Prime Minister

Japan’s Victors Warily Prepare for Power New York Times — As the newly elected Democratic Party works to assemble what will be only the second government in Japan’s postwar history not to be led by the Liberal Democratic Party, it is treading carefully to avoid infighting that could split the ideologically diverse party or drive a wedge between it and its coalition allies. Since smashing the Liberal Democrats’ nearly uninterrupted half-century monopoly on power two weeks ago, the center-left Democrats and their leader, Yukio Hatoyama, 62, have hurried to fill top posts in the party and his incoming cabinet and to cobble together a coalition with other parties before their government’s formal accession to power on Sept. 16. click to read complete article

Clinton Optimistic About Ties With New Japanese Government Voice Of America News — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she is relaxed and optimistic about the future of U.S. relations with the new Japanese government despite potential problems over Afghanistan and the relocation of American forces based in Japan. The Obama administration has sent a senior envoy to meet officials of the new left-leaning government just installed in Tokyo. Clinton says the new leaders in Japan may govern more pragmatically than some of their campaign rhetoric has indicated. And she is expressing confidence that the decades-old U.S.-Japanese alliance will remain solid despite expected policy changes by the government of new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. click to read complete article

Will Japan's global ties change? BBC — Days before his landslide election win, Yukio Hatoyama ruffled feathers in Washington with an essay in the New York Times. Hitting out at US-led globalisation, he said many Asian nations wanted to see America's "political and economic excesses" restrained. US military might was key to regional stability, he said, but stronger ties with regional neighbours were also needed to safeguard Japan's interests. click to read complete article