Japan's longtime opposition leader, Yukio Hatoyama, was elected as the nation's 93rd prime minister Wednesday, installing his new Cabinet and promising to reinvigorate the country's economy and shake up its government.
His left-of-center Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ended more than 50 years of near unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama speaks during his first news conference as premier at his official residence in Tokyo September 16, 2009. Hatoyama said on Wednesday building a relationship of trust will be the top priority when he meets President Barack Obama in the United States next week.
Hatoyama has pledged to smooth Tokyo's often-bumpy relationship with its Asian neighbors and forge a foreign policy that is more independent from Washington.
The new prime minister said he wanted to build a "relationship of trust" with President Barack Obama by exchanging views "frankly". The two leaders will meet next week while Hatoyama is in the US for a UN climate change summit, a General Assembly debate, nuclear non-proliferation talks and the G20 summit.
Hatoyama will then travel to China on Oct 10, for a summit with Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, according to the Kyodo News Agency.
He is expected to visit South Korea after that, the report said.
