ABOUT NAOTO KAN

Naoto Kan (born October 10, 1946) was prime minister of Japan from June 2010 to September 2011. He has also served as deputy prime minister, finance minister, health minister, and national strategy minister.

The son of a corporate employee in the southern prefecture of Yamaguchi, Kan graduated with a degree in physics from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, where he was involved in the student movement, then worked for a patent firm.

In 1980, after three unsuccessful attempts, he won a seat in parliament as part of the tiny Social Democratic Federation. He served as health minister under a coalition deal with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the mid-1990s, becoming widely known after he exposed a scandal involving HIV-contaminated blood products.

He played a leading role in the formation of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which helped sweep the LDP from power in September 2009. Kan became prime minister after the resignation of fellow Democratic Party member Yukio Hatoyama in 2010. He inherited a divided parliament, a stagnating economy, and massive public debt. He resigned less than six months after the Fukushima disaster.

ABOUT THE EINAUDI CENTER

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies was established in 1961 to enhance Cornell’s research and teaching about the world’s regions, countries, cultures, and languages. In 1990 it was named for its founding director, the political theorist Mario Einaudi. Today the center houses area studies and thematic programs; organizes speaker series, conferences, and events; provides grants and support to faculty and students; and brings together scholars from many disciplines to address complex international issues.