Profile: Taro Aso

Taro Aso's outspoken nature has sometimes landed him in hot water

Taro Aso is a charismatic but gaffe-prone conservative politician who served as foreign minister under two different prime ministers before winning the top job himself.

His successful bid for the leadership of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in September 2008 was his fourth attempt to win the post.

He lost out to Junichiro Koizumi in 2001 and came a distant second to Shinzo Abe in the leadership election of September 2006.

When Mr Abe stepped down a year later, Mr Aso was seen as the front-runner until Yasuo Fukuda emerged to beat him.

Taro Aso's moment in the spotlight finally arrived when Mr Fukuda stepped down, leaving the ruling party scrambling to find a leader who could connect with disillusioned voters.

However, less than three months after taking office, Mr Aso's popularity in the polls had plummeted and was lower than that of Mr Fukuda when he left office.

'Qualified'

Mr Aso comes from a prominent political family - his grandfather was post-war premier Shigeru Yoshida.

He represented Japan in shooting at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, three years before being elected to parliament for the first time.

Mr Aso is known for his strong conservative views, advocating a tough line towards North Korea and rejecting any change to the law to allow women to ascend the throne.

Mr Aso is the first Roman Catholic to be made Prime Minister in Japan

He wants Japan to adopt a more muscular foreign policy and has criticised China in the past, describing its military spending as a threat to Japan and the region.

Mr Aso is also a blunt speaker who has had to apologise for some of his more controversial statements.

He once reportedly likened opposition tactics to those of the Nazis in Germany.

During a leadership campaign he was criticised for making a joke about Alzheimer's disease.

But his outspoken style appeals to some voters and his well-known love of Japanese manga cartoons has won him support from some young people.

Economic crisis

His time in office has been dominated by the global economic crisis and dealing with an increasingly hostile North Korea.

Mr Aso was the first foreign leader to be received by US President Barack Obama.

When he took office, Mr Aso said he was confident he could handle the top job.

However, the LDP's defeat in a Tokyo local election in July 2009 led Mr Aso to declare a general election for 30 August and increased pressure on him to quit as LDP leader.