The Japanese parliament receives its fifth prime minister in three years.

During his first speech to parliament as prime minister, Naoto Kan says Japan's struggling economy is his top priority.

[Naoto Kan, Japanese Prime Minister]:
"Japan is currently facing a difficult situation with the worst fiscal situation among developed countries. We cannot sustain public financing that overly relies on issuing bonds. As we can see in the euro zone confusion that started from Greece, there is a risk of default if the growing public debt is neglected and if trust is lost in the bond market."

Although the future of a controversial U.S. military base cost his predecessor his job, Kan treaded lightly around the issue.

[Naoto Kan, Japanese Prime Minister]:
"We will have the Japan-U.S. alliance as the basis of our diplomacy and strengthen ties with Asian nations as well. I believe that the Japan-U.S. alliance is a mutual wealth in the international arena, which backs up Japan's security as well as the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. We will continue to steadily advance the alliance."

Kan's cabinet has already gotten off to a rocky start, particularly on financial issues.

The banking minister stepped down over a policy disagreement with Kan.

But his departure could remove obstacles to aggressive fiscal reform.

Japan's debt is twice the size of the economy which is the second largest in the world.