When Japanese lawmaker Kan Suzuki was elected to the Upper House eight years ago, he knew he wanted to take his political discussion to the Web.

VOA: standard.2009.07.27

The latest set of economic reports come just a day after Ichiro Ozawa announced that he would run against Kan for leadership of the Democratic Party on Sept. 14.

FORBES: Japan's Economic Woes Pile Up

He replaced him with Naoto Kan, the deputy prime minister.

ECONOMIST: Japan's finance minister resigns

As Mr. Kan rose to power, he came to embrace the national consensus that Japan should ramp up its use of nuclear energy.

WSJ: Japan's Ex-Premier Turns Anti-Nuclear Activist