Kan stays as Premier

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, left, is congratulated by senior lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa as Kan was re-elected as president of the Democratic Party of Japan during their party convention in Tokyo, on Tuesday. Photo: AP.

Naoto Kan was on Tuesday reconfirmed as Japanese Prime Minister in a straight contest in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) at its extraordinary convention in Tokyo.

Mr. Kan (63), a veteran leader with no links to Japan's political dynasties, defeated Ichiro Ozawa, a key architect of the centre-Left party's historic triumph in the general election over a year ago. Votes of the DPJ members of Diet (Parliament) were shared by the two leaders in almost an equal proportion. But local legislators and party members supported Mr. Kan decisively, giving him an overall tally of 721 points against his challenger's 491, it was announced.

Mr. Ozawa, also seen as a “shadow shogun” or an influential power-broker, challenged Mr. Kan for the inter-related positions of DPJ president and Japan's Prime Minister in the context of the party's debacle in the Upper House elections last July. It was only in the previous month that Mr. Kan had taken over as Prime Minister from Yukio Hatoyama amid a rising tide of protest over the prolonged U.S. military presence in Japan, especially in the Okinawa prefecture.

Japan's economic slide is now a more dominant issue in the country's political discourse. And, addressing journalists in Tokyo after Tuesday's DPJ convention, Mr. Kan said: “I will fully work on reviving the Japanese economy.” He would move forward with “that determination” in the next “three years” of his possible term.

Alluding to the rise and fall of four Prime Ministers, including his predecessor from the DPJ itself, in quick succession, Mr. Kan pledged to move forward with “a renewed sense of responsibility”.

On foreign policy, he will need to quickly address the tensions in ties with Beijing over the “collision” in the East China Sea, according to regional diplomats. Of continuing importance to Mr. Kan will be the future of Japan-U.S. alliance.

As for ties with India, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo has announced that Mr. Kan's government has reached “an agreement in principle” for a bilateral economic pact.