At the end of an extraordinary cabinet meeting, the outgoing trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda confirmed to reporters that the entire group of ministers had stepped down, saying "Yes, all of them".
Yoshihiko Noda is set to be confirmed Tuesday as Japan`s sixth prime minister in five years, starting a term in which he must revive the troubled economy, push quake recovery and contain a nuclear crisis.
The cabinet of outgoing premier Naoto Kan is expected to resign en masse in the morning, while Noda, Kan`s finance minister, must start picking candidates for his new ministerial line-up, expected to be named in the coming days.
Noda, 54, who on Monday beat four rivals in the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) ballot to become its new president, is expected to be named premier in the afternoon by the Diet legislature.
In comments on the day of his victory, Noda stressed that he is an ordinary man without star power or looks, promising a moderate leadership style that would seek to unite the divided party and engage the opposition.
He has said he is open to the idea of a grand coalition with the conservative opposition Liberal Democratic Party, who were ousted in a landslide two years ago but who can block bills in the upper house.
Noda faces several pressing challenges. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
