Japan's longtime opposition leader, Yukio Hatoyama, was elected as the nation's 93rd prime minister yesterday, installing his new Cabinet and promising to reinvigorate the country's economy and shake up its government.

Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is greeted after he was elected as Japan's 93rd prime minister by the House of Representatives in Tokyo, capital of Japan, on Sept. 16, 2009. Following his election in the lower house, the House of Councillors also picked Hatoyama as the new premier. [Ren Zhenglai/Xinhua]

His left-of-center Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ended more than 50 years of near unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

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.

Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (C, 1st row)and his cabinet including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada (1st R, 1st row), Minister of State Strategy and vice Prime Minister Naoto Kan (2nd L, 1st row), Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano (1st R, 2nd row) and Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii (2nd R, 2nd row) pose for group photo at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Sept. 16, 2009. [Ren Zhenglai/Xinhua]

He is expected to visit South Korea after that, the report said.

Unlike previous governments in Japan, the DPJ wants to shift the nation's focus away from the US to its Asian neighbors, said Gao Hong, from the Japan studies institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The new Japanese government "will treat Japan's ties with Asian countries, particularly with China, as equally important to its relations with the US," Gao said.

Beijing should be "optimistic and cautious" when dealing with Tokyo, he said.

"Even though the DPJ has always attached great importance to ties with China, it is almost inevitable that someone in Japan will use sensitive issues to hurt the bilateral ties when the DPJ is in power," Gao said. "Hatoyama's government should hold back before trying to deal with those sensitive issues."

Experts have described Hatoyama's victory as a major turning point for Japan, which is struggling through its most severe economic slowdown since World War II.

He has vowed to cut government waste, rein in bureaucracy and restart the economy by putting a freeze on previously planned tax hikes.

"I am excited by the prospect of changing history," Hatoyama said. "The battle starts now."

Against the backdrop of record unemployment and mounting deflation, Hatoyama's detractors question whether his largely untested government will be able to deliver.

However, many observers have applauded his choice of ministers and suggested that if the new government is able to avoid scandal and build up a track record, it could remain in power for the long haul.

Parliament met yesterday for a special session to formally select Hatoyama, whose party won a landslide victory during parliamentary elections last month. In yesterday's parliamentary vote, Hatoyama won 327 of the 480 available ballots. He needed just 241 votes to be declared prime minister.

Huo Jiangang, a Japan expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Studies, said Hatoyama unveiled an "all-star Cabinet".

"Most of the Cabinet members are key figures from the DPJ," Huo said, adding that Hatoyama gave the most important positions to the most capable people.

Japan's economy remains deeply impacted by the global financial crisis.

The nation's rapidly aging population is becoming an increasingly serious drain on public coffers and another challenge for the new prime minister, with the number of taxpayers decreasing and the number of people qualifying for a pension swelling.

"I want the people to feel that their pocketbook situation is improving, even a little, as soon as possible," Hatoyama said.

(China Daily September 17, 2009)