Japan's new prime minister, Naoto Kan, has described himself as a salary man's son with no special connections. Japan has been dominated by families who have made politics their trade. None of them lasted more than a year in office. Many young Japanese have little interest in getting involved in politics. "I think they're just completely cynical about their ability to actually change something," said Phil Deans of Temple University, Japan Campus. "They regard the system as so ossified, so conservative, so caught up in special interests that they'd be wasting their time." Some hope, however, that the new prime minister might herald a new era.