Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), was elected Wednesday as Japan's 93rd prime minister, succeeding Taro Aso of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Yukio Hatoyama, president of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), is greeted after he was elected as Japan's 93rd prime minister by the House of Representatives in Tokyo, capital of Japan, on Sept. 16, 2009. Following his election in the lower house, the House of Councillors also picked Hatoyama as the new premier. [Ren Zhenglai/Xinhua]

During the special Diet session, both chambers picked Hatoyama as the new premier.

The election of Hatoyama to the top government office came as widely expected as the DPJ-led tripartite coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP) commands majorities in both chambers of the Diet.

Hatoyama will shortly announce the lineup of his cabinet. And the new cabinet will be formally launched later Wednesday following an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

Earlier in the day former Prime Minister Taro Aso and 17 other cabinet ministers resigned en masse ahead of the launch of a DPJ-led government.

Aso, who also resigned as LDP president, launched his cabinet on Sept. 24, 2008, following the abrupt resignation of his predecessor Yasuo Fukuda. His administration lasted nearly a year.

In the historic general election on Aug. 30, the DPJ won by a landslide, breaking the half-century lock of the LDP on power. Japan has thus witnessed a real change of government for the first time in the postwar era.