Hatoyama formally appointed as PM

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The leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama, is formally elected as prime minister.

He promises to reinvigorate the Japanese economy and shake up the government with his center-left party, after more than 50 years of nearly unbroken rule by conservatives.

Japan's parliament convened in a special session to formally confirm Yukio Hatoyama. He won majority votes in both the lower and the upper houses.

Hatoyama then officially became his country's 93rd Prime Minister upon receiving his appointment from Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese Prime Minister, said, "I was excited by the prospect of changing history. I also felt a heavy responsibility to change Japan and to bring national politics back into the hands of Japanese people. I am standing at the forefront to initiate such a change."

Hatoyama has vowed to cut government waste, rein in the national bureaucracy, and restart the economy by putting a freeze on planned tax increases, removing highway tolls, and focusing policies on consumers, rather than big business.

He also says he wants to build a relationship of trust with the US through a "frank" exchange of views.

Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese Prime Minister, said, "We should be building alliances in which we can all express our views frankly. The relationship with the US has tended, in the past, to be somewhat passive. I would like to build ties where we can express our views without reservation."

Hatoyama further pledged to forge a foreign policy that is more independent from Washington and improve Tokyo's relationships with its Asian neighbors.