Report: Japan's PM Kan confirms to quit

Prime Minister Naoto Kan confirmed on Friday he would resign as ruling party leader, Kyodo news agency said, setting the stage for Japan to pick its sixth premier in five years as it tries to rebuild from a massive earthquake and tsunami, forge a new energy policy after a nuclear crisis and curb huge public debt.

As many as seven ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmakers are jostling to replace Kan in a DPJ leadership vote set for Aug. 29. (Reuters)