installed Naoto Kan as its new
prime minister on Friday, handing
the outspoken populist the job of
rallying his party and reclaiming its
mandate for change ahead of elec-
Kan said to party members.
“Our first priority is to regain the
trust of the people.”
ISSEI KATO / REUTERS
Japan’s new prime minister Naoto Kan (center) greets politicians as he arrives before the Democratic Party of Japan party election in Tokyo on Friday.
On foreign policy, Kan described the relationship with the United States as vital, but also stressed the importance of Asian neighbors.
To that effect, the new Japanese Cabinet will maintain good relations with China, Chinese analysts said.
growth and an aging, shrinking
population.
But more urgently, with upper
house elections looming in July, Kan
will need to convince voters of the
ruling Democratic Party of Japan’s
after squandering the public’s high
hopes with broken campaign prom-
ises and financial scandals.
“My task is to rebuild this nation,”
said Kan, who served as Hatoyama’s
competence.
“We will work together as one in
the face of the tough political situa-
tion and the upcoming upper house
elections and fight together unified,”
Kan’s stance is based on his deep understanding of China, Liu said. Kan first visited China in 1977 with a group of Japanese politicians.
He was also among a 3,000-strong Japanese youth delegation to China in 1984. That was when he first met President Hu Jintao, who was then head of the China Youth League and
The item is also adorned with Huang’s portrait and valuable inscriptions of several dynasties ranging from Song to Qing (16441911), stretching the calligraphy work to 15 meters in total.
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CHINADAILY
WEEKEND EDITION | JUNE 5-6, 2010
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New PM faces challenges
The piece was kept at a Japanese private museum for decades before it was bought back by a collector from Taiwan.
The previous record price for a Chinese work of art was set by a Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) blueand-white ceramic, which was sold for about 230 million yuan at a Christie’s London auction in 2005.
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436.8
million yuan
auction record for calligraphy work from Song Dynasty
Calligraphy
masterpiece
sets record
By LIN QI
CHINA DAILY
BEIJING — A calligraphy handscroll by Song Dynasty (960-1279) master Huang Tingjian fetched a record price of 436.8 million yuan ($64 million) after 40 minutes of bidding on Thursday night at Poly International’s Spring Auction.
SEE “AUCTION” PAGE 2
Naoto Kan set to continue push for better ties between China and Japan
By LI XIAOKUN AND ZHANG TING
CHINA DAILY
TOKYO — Japan’s parliament
Kan reportedly also invited Chinese students in Japan to his home to make dumplings during Chinese New Year celebrations.
in charge of the event’s reception. Since then, Kan has visited China
dozens of times. He was always received by Chinese leaders and developed a “very deep friendship and trusting relationship” with them, as Chinese media reported.
tions next month.
The new Japanese leader is friend-
ly to China and will continue to push
for better bilateral relations, Chinese
analysts said.
Inside
Kan, a 63-yearold political veteran
Kan is one of the few publicly object to the independence of Taiwan. He also admitted to the Japanese invasion of China in World War II and said his country should apologize for its wartime aggression.
finance minister.
Kan must now contend with
a daunting list of problems. The
world’s No 2 economy is burdened
with the largest public debt in
the industrialized world, sluggish
Fiery crusader with a reputation for
Kan takes the confronting Japan’s
helm in Japan, powerful bureau-
page 8
crats, succeeds
Yukio Hatoyama,
who stepped down on Wednesday
The masterpiece, titled Di Zhu Ming, features a calligraphic representation of an epigraph originally composed by Wei Zheng, a famous Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) chancellor. The handscroll is considered to demonstrate the creativity of Huang’s penmanship and his moral principle.