After a historic landslide victory in the Aug. 30 election, a new Cabinet was launched Wednesday, led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan.
The incoming administration's first big test is whether it can follow through on its promise of administrative reform, wresting power from the bureaucrats and putting politicians in charge of policy and the budget.
Experts warn that the new government will need to show tangible results to maintain voters' support until next summer's Upper House election, which will decide the long-term fate of the DPJ-led government.