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Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has a slight edge over powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa ahead of a party leadership vote next week, NHK public TV said on Friday, but with many party lawmakers undecided the outcome is too close to call.

A key figure in Japan's ruling party dubbed Americans "simple-minded" in a speech to fellow lawmakers Wednesday.

Growth in Japan's economy slowed to a crawl in the second quarter and analysts see more weakness ahead, adding to policymakers' headaches as they grapple with deflation and a rise in the yen that threatens an export-reliant recovery.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Sunday that he will not resign, even as early results showed his Democratic Party heading for a major political setback in a midterm election.

A Tokyo court on Wednesday convicted a New Zealand activist of obstructing the Japanese whaling mission in the Antarctic Ocean, sentencing him to a suspended prison term.

Both the upper and lower houses of Japan's parliament elected Finance Minister Naoto Kan to be the nation's new prime minister Friday, following the resignation of Yukio Hatoyama from the post earlier this week.

Japanese television is reporting that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is meeting with parliamentary officials and is expected to resign.

Japan and the United States agreed on Saturday on a plan to relocate a controversial U.S. airbase on Okinawa, broadcaster NHK said, but the deal faces resistance from local residents and the government's coalition allies.

Japan's prime minister said Tuesday that it will be impossible to move all parts of a key U.S. Marine base out of Okinawa, breaking with past promises to relocate the facility outside the southern island.

Japan's Princess Aiko, granddaughter of the emperor, has missed several days of classes because of bullying by boys at her elementary school, the royal family said.