Naoto Kan (born 10 October 1946) is a Japanese politician and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010 he was elected as prime minister. He was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan. Naoto Kan studied law and is a patent attorney by profession. Kan resigned as prime minister on 26 August 2011 after many people were critical of his leadership following the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. Yoshihiko Noda was appointed as his successor.