Japan's new prime minister, Naoto Kan, is expected to continue the liberal policies of outgoing Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama that focused more on China and less on the United States, U.S. officials said.
Kan was picked June 4 by Japan’s lower house after Hatoyama resigned days earlier over his failure to follow through on a promise to move the U.S. military’s Futenma base off Okinawa, and amid a financial scandal.