Affiliation: Japan Politics
Website: n-kan.jp
Location: Japan
Profile : Naoto Kan is a Japanese politician who is currently Finance Minister and Vice Prime Minister. He was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), then the largest opposition party in the Diet, from 2002 to 2004. Kan was also Minister for Health and Welfare
Japanese Prime Minister naoto kan visited Iwo Jima on Tuesday (December 14, 2010), which is the first Japanese territory to be attacked by U.S ground troops during the World War II. This island has recently witnessed the discovery of two mass graves that contain remains of about 2,200 people.Naoto Kan won a Lower House seat for the first time in 1980 as a member of the Socialist Democratic Federation.In 1994, Kan joined New Party Sakigake and served as its policy chief when it was part of a coalition government led jointly by the Liberal Democratic and Social Democratic parties.
In 1996, he became health minister under the government of then prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of the LDP, and made his name by tackling the problem of HIV infections from tainted blood products.That same year, Kan and Yukio Hatoyama founded the precursor to the present-day Democratic Party.In 1998, Kan became the party's first leader after it merged with smaller parties.In 2003, Kan led his party into a merger with the Liberal Party, led by Ichiro Ozawa.
When the Democrats took power in their historic Lower House victory last summer, Kan took up the posts of deputy prime minister and national strategy minister in the government of Prime Minister Hatoyama.In January, Kan replaced then finance minister Hirohisa Fujii, who resigned for health reasons.
Some people call him "Irakan," or "Irritable Kan," as he is known to be rather short-tempered. But lawmakers close to him say that lately he has become more well-rounded in terms of his personality. apanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited Iwo Jima on Tuesday (December 14, 2010), which is the first Japanese territory to be attacked by U.S ground troops during the World War II. This island has recently witnessed the discovery of two mass graves that contain remains of about 2,200 people. Mr. Kan said his government was responsible for seeking as many soldiers as possible by sifting through every grain of sand and bringing these belongings to their homes.