TOKYO: A serious policy maven with a bit of a stubborn streak, Japan's next foreign minister faces a challenge managing ties with Washington given the incoming government wants a more equal relationship with its closest ally.

Katsuya Okada, 56, has already had a taste of diplomacy when he sought to reassure Washington as the Democratic Party of Japan's No 2 executive that there would be no major shift in bilateral ties if the party took power.

The Democrats trounced the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had put the US-Japan alliance at the core of its security policies during its more than half-century of rule.