By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Tokyo
**Japan’s parliament is due to meet to formally name Yukio Hatoyama as the next prime minister.**His Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a landslide election victory in the country two weeks ago - a rare transition for Japan.
It ended more than half a century of almost unbroken power by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Mr Hatoyama must tackle a rapidly aging society and an economy still struggling after a brutal recession.
He won the election by pledging to break the power of the old order’s bureaucrats, big business and the LDP - which dominated since the end of the World War II.
Professor Phil Deans, from Temple University in Tokyo, said people had become tired of the old system.
What will new leaders bring to Japan
“It was extremely effective in developing Japan into a very rich, very important nation,” he said.
"But it had reached its limits, it had reached the end of the developmental logic that underpinned post war Japan.
“The trouble is now its time for reform, everyone agrees reform is good, but where does Japan go next What is the next model”
The DPJ has promised to increase social security, but has given little idea of how it will be paid for. There is talk of a more assertive diplomacy towards the country’s main ally, the United States.
But opinion polls have shown many people did not vote for the DPJ because of their policies - but because they wanted change.
Japan’s economy has been stumbling - the population is ageing and declining.
Keisuke Kurihara is soon to graduate from the elite University of Tokyo. He already has a job lined up as a diplomat but even he feels the need for a new direction.
“I’d like them to show us their vision of Japan as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are faced with great problems, such as the world’s fastest aging society and piling national debts. These problems need to be addressed for decades to come.”
In defeating the LDP, Yukio Hatoyama has already achieved what many people thought for years was impossible. But now the difficult part begins, governing Japan.