Noda was elected Japan's sixth prime minister in five years on Tuesday, inheriting the daunting challenges of disaster recovery, a nuclear crisis, a soaring yen and a ballooning public debt.

His predecessor Naoto Kan resigned after 14 months in office under fierce criticism of his administration's handling of the atomic crisis.

Half a year after Japan was hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami, the Fukushima nuclear crisis continues, and operator Tokyo Electric Power Company is struggling to bring the reactors to cold shutdown by January.

The radiation that has escaped from its reactors has driven tens of thousands from their homes, made some rural areas uninhabitable for years, and contaminated food supplies, some of which have entered the market.

AFP