Japanese Prime Minister Kan is stepping down, and his likely replacement is the former Foreign Minister, Maehara, pictured here with his then U.S. counterpart Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Gives one ideas, does it not?
- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives alongside Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara for a joint press conference in the Ben Franklin Room at the State Department in Washington, DC, January 6, 2011. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Japanese prime minister announces resignation
Top story: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced in a nationally televised speech on Friday that he was resigning from office and as leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Kan has suffered from low approval ratings due to what many Japanese see as his government's botched handling of the tsunami disaster and accompanying nuclear crisis that hit the country in March.
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Seiji Maehara, a former foreign minister and a China hawk, is seen as the front-runner in the race to replace Kan. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Trade Minister Banri Kaieda will also likely contend for the top position.
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