JAPAN'S new prime minister admits he is no Mr Charisma - Yoshihiko Noda likens himself to a marine bottom-feeder rather than a glittering goldfish. But that, he says, is his appeal.

新一届日本首相野田佳彦坦言自己并非魅力先生——他将自己比作水底的泥鳅而不是闪闪发光的金鱼。但是他说，这正是他魅力所在。

The 54-year-old, who as finance minister kept to plodding statements so as not to spook financial markets, stresses his credentials as a responsible, moderate and middle-of-the road leader at a time of national crisis.

54岁的野田佳彦强调在国家面临危机之时，他的角色是一个负责任的、温和的、走中间路线的领导人。在任财务相时，他一直秉承稳健的主张，避免使金融市场受到惊吓。

When he announced his candidacy in an essay in a conservative magazine this month, Mr Noda said: "I am an ordinary man. I do not have large financial resources... I am not stylish and my looks are not my selling point."

本月他在一本保守主义杂志上撰文，宣布自己将参选首相。他说：“我是一个普通人。我没有那么大的财政资源。我不时尚，相貌也没什么卖点。”

On Monday, making his final pitch for the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, he used the fish metaphor, humbly telling his fellow DPJ MPs: "I am a loach. I can't be a goldfish."

周一，在竞选当政的日本民主党党首的最后讲演中，他用了金鱼的比喻，谦逊地告诉他的民主党国会议员说：“我是一条泥鳅，不可能成为一条金鱼。”

The son of a paratrooper in the Self-Defence Forces, Noda, a married father of two, holds broadly conservative political views.

野田佳彦是自卫队一名伞兵的儿子，已婚，是两个孩子的父亲。政治观点上，他持明显的保守立场。