Depending on who you ask, Yoshihiko Noda is a fiscal policy expert, a conservative who believes the Class-A war criminals were not in fact so, or the ailing Democratic Party of Japan's last hope to regain the public's trust.
The new prime minister describes himself as more of an "ordinary man" who "doesn't have the elegance or the looks" to charm voters. "I am not a hereditary politician and do not have any substantial asset," he acknowledged in a magazine article published in August.
But what the Chiba Prefecture native lacks in appearance he makes up for in effort.