JAPAN
Prime Minister Naoto Kan

Prime Minister Naoto Kan was appointed Prime Minister on June 8, 2010.

Prime Minister Kan graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1970. He is a former patent attorney who opened his own patent office in 1974. He was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 1980 and became Minister of Health and Welfare in 1996.

Prime Minister Kan has served as Party President of the Democratic Party of Japan twice before, in 1996-1999 and 2002-2004. He was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for National Strategy, Economic and Fiscal Policies, Science and Techonlogies in September 2009. In January 2010, he was appointed Minister of Finance.