With Naoto Kan's days as prime minister apparently numbered, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda emerged Thursday as a key candidate to succeed Kan.
According to media reports, Noda has received the backing of key leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, including Secretary General Katsuya Okada and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.
Considered a fiscal hawk and an advocate of raising the consumption tax, Noda is among the few party executives untainted by scandal.