日本新首相野田佳彦自喻“泥鳅”

JAPAN'S new prime minister admits he is no Mr Charisma - Yoshihiko Noda likens himself to a marine bottom-feeder rather than a glittering goldfish. But that, he says, is his appeal。

The 54-year-old, who as finance minister kept to plodding statements so as not to spook financial markets, stresses his credentials as a responsible, moderate and middle-of-the road leader at a time of national crisis。

When he announced his candidacy in an essay in a conservative magazine this month, Mr Noda said: "I am an ordinary man. I do not have large financial resources... I am not stylish and my looks are not my selling point."

日本新首相野田佳彦

On Monday, making his final pitch for the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, he used the fish metaphor, humbly telling his fellow DPJ MPs: "I am a loach. I can't be a goldfish."

The son of a paratrooper in the Self-Defence Forces, Noda, a married father of two, holds broadly conservative political views。

This month, on the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender, he angered neighbour South Korea when he said that Japanese Class-A war criminals convicted by an Allied tribunal were in fact not war criminals。

Noda is a graduate of the prestigious Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics。

He then joined the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, set up by Panasonic founder and business guru Konosuke Matsushita。

The elite leadership course trains its students in management skills and world affairs, but also in ancient arts such as the Japanese tea ceremony, kendo stick fighting and Zen meditation。

Mr Noda is the first Matsushita alumnus to lead Japan。

He was first elected at age 29 to the legislature of Chiba outside Tokyo and entered national politics in his mid-30s with the short-lived Japan New Party of Morihiro Hosokawa, who later became prime minister。

新一届日本首相野田佳彦坦言自己并非魅力先生——他将自己比作水底的泥鳅而不是闪闪发光的金鱼。但是他说，这正是他魅力所在。

54岁的野田佳彦强调在国家面临危机之时，他的角色是一个负责任的、温和的、走中间路线的领导人。在任财务相时，他一直秉承稳健的主张，避免使金融市场受到惊吓。

本月他在一本保守主义杂志上撰文，宣布自己将参选首相。他说：“我是一个普通人。我没有那么大的财政资源。我不时尚，相貌也没什么卖点。”

周一，在竞选当政的日本民主党党首的最后讲演中，他用了金鱼的比喻，谦逊地告诉他的民主党国会议员说：“我是一条泥鳅，不可能成为一条金鱼。”

野田佳彦是自卫队一名伞兵的儿子，已婚，是两个孩子的父亲。政治观点上，他持明显的保守立场。

本月，在日本二战投降纪念日时，他扬言被盟军法庭定罪的日本甲级战犯事实上不是战犯，此言激怒了邻国韩国。

野田佳彦毕业于久负盛名的早稻田大学政治经济学院。

随后他又考入由松下集团创始人、商业大亨松下幸之助创办的松下政经塾。

精英领袖课程培养学生的管理能力和处理国际事务的能力，但同时也教授古典艺术，譬如日本茶道、剑术和禅修。

野田佳彦是松下政经塾第一位执掌日本的校友。

29岁时，他首次当选为东京城外的千叶县议员，30多岁时步入国家政坛，加入由细川护熙组建的短命的新党。细川护熙后来成为了首相。