Profile: Yoshihiko Noda

Minutes after being chosen as Democratic Party leader, Yoshihiko Noda promised to create a "stable, reliable and mature" political environment.

       But the 54-year-old faces multiple challenges to restore faith in government among the Japanese  public, who have seen six prime ministers in the last five years.
Once confirmed by parliament as prime minister, he must tackle pressing economic woes and steer Japan's recovery after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 11 March.
And he will have to find a way to unify his party and secure the support of its biggest faction - controlled by Ichiro Ozawa - which backed another candidate, Banri Kaieda, for the leadership.
Economic reforms Yoshihiko Noda grew up in Chiba, to the east of Tokyo. Unlike many Japanese lawmakers, he does not hail from a political dynasty - his father was in the military.
A graduate of Waseda University and then the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, he was involved in local politics before his election to parliament in 1993.
He was elected as a candidate for the Japan New Party, which is now defunct, but went on to join the DPJ in 2000.
After serving in key party roles, he was named finance minister in June 2010.
The preferred candidate of financial markets, Mr Noda is known as a fiscal hawk and has called for tough economic reforms to tackle Japan's huge public debt.
He has spoken out in favour of doubling sales tax, currently at 5%, to fund rising social security costs.
Seen as a relatively safe pair of hands, Mr Noda nonetheless courted controversy when he said Japanese leaders convicted of war crimes at the end of World War II were not criminals under domestic law.
He is known as a judo fan and is married with two children.

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