PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Naoto Kan,
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance,
Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation

There are plenty of issues facing the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, and Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan is ready to field questions about the measures being taken to advance on all fronts.

Kan, who replaced Hirohisa Fujii as finance minister in January, has pressured the Bank of Japan to play a more pro-active role in the struggle against deflation and tangled with Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei over the restructuring of Japan Post.

Also Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Kan is at the center of the new government's policy-making and as a 10-term politician from Tokyo's 18th District has experienced the big political issues of the past 30 years.

As Health Minister in 1996, he won acclaim for exposing his ministry's complicity in a tainted blood scandal. He later helped create the Democratic Party of Japan and served as its first president, leading the party again in 2004-2005.

A graduate of Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kan began his political life in civil movements and as an environmental campaigner.

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Sandwich: Cajun spiced swordfish with tomato, cucumber, coriander, lemon mayonnaise on campagne.
Hot Plate: Grilled skirt-steak with lyonnaise potatoes, spinach, mushrooms & pepper sauce.

Naoto Kan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy