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Tuesday, 13th July 2010
In Events In Japan,

New Japanese PM suffers poll shock

Japan's new prime minister, former financial minister Naoto Kan, has suffered a blow in recent polls which could have an impact on the nation's credit rating.

The new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and its coalition have lost their overall majority in the upper house in Japanese parliament less than 12 months after coming to power. The election of the fairly liberal party was a big change by voters in Japan, a nation ruled by the much more conservative Liberal Democratic Party for decades.

Kan's party will still have control of the lower house of parliament but will now need the back up of other parties if they are to get their bills through the upper house. However, support for Kan among his opposition leaders may be hard to come by, with many calling for an election in the lower house too.

As the country's former finance minister, Kan has been outspoken about Japan's money worries - but many feel his doom-laden predictions are exaggerated despite the fact that Japan's national debt is now almost double the size of its annual economic output.

Written by Kimberley Homer.