Japan's new leader vows economic shift

Long-time opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama took office as prime minister today, naming a new Cabinet and vowing to rebuild the economy and refocus Japan’s place on the world stage with his largely untested party.

Mr Hatoyama’s victory over the conservatives, who have governed Japan almost non-stop since the Second World War, marks a major turning point for Japan, which is facing its worst post-war economic slowdown with unemployment at record highs and deflation intensifying.