Japan anoints new prime minister

TOKYO -- Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet resigned en masse Tuesday ahead of a vote in parliament to install former Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as the new leader.

Noda, seen as a fiscal conservative, will face a host of daunting problems, including how to fund the recovery from Japan's devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the nuclear crisis touched off by the disaster, and the rapid strengthening of the nation's currency on international markets.

Noda, voted leader of the ruling party yesterday, already has been battling economic malaise and the yen's record surge, which hurts Japan's exporters.

Nearly six months after the tsunami devastated the northeast coast, dozens of towns are still cleaning up and struggling with reconstruction plans. The damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has displaced 100,000 people who live in temporary housing or with relatives, unsure when they will return.

Noda, 69, is well-liked by some in the business community, but he's viewed as lacking charisma. The newspaper Asahi described him this year as "a deep thinker, but also bland, inoffensive and nonconfrontational."

Noda defeated Trade Minister Banri Kaieda in a runoff election 215-177 among ruling party members of parliament after none of the initial five candidates won a majority. -- AP