Japan PM front-runner Aso meets resistance
Japan's flamboyant former foreign minister Taro Aso, the front-runner to be the country's new prime minister, met resistance Thursday as two economic reformists vowed to give him a fight.
Aso, who supports government spending to boost the troubled economy, led opinion polls on who the public wants the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to pick on September 22.
The LDP was left scrambling to find a replacement after Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda abruptly quit on Monday following months of lacklustre poll ratings and a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
Economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano, 70, an outspoken advocate of raising taxes to repair Japan's debt-ridden finances, said he would join the leadership race.
"I decided last night to run for the office to ensure that there is a thorough policy debate," Yosano told reporters after a series of meetings with senior politicians.
Yosano is the grandson of two famous poets of traditional "tanka" verse. He has made his name as a straight-talking champion of fiscal discipline in Japan, which has the highest public debt of any rich nation.
Battling throat cancer, Yosano announced several years ago that he would never seek the premiership, taking the advice of his wife despite calls from some lawmakers.
But he has recently intensified his public appearances and effectively served as caretaker prime minister when Shinzo Abe last year suddenly quit and checked into a hospital for stress.
In a bid to show his political shrewdness, Yosano last year staged a public match of "go," Japan's chess-like game of strategy, against main opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa.
Aso is expected to formally announce his candidacy on Monday with promises of new spending measures to revive the economy, which is now teetering on recession as inflation soars and demand for exports slow.
Fukuda, in one of his final acts, proposed a 11.7-trillion-yen (107-billion-dollar) stimulus package last week, although many economists say it will do little to reverse the downturn.
Aso also faces resistance from the younger generation of the LDP as Nobuteru Ishihara, a 51-year-old son of Tokyo's outspoken governor, said he would join the race if no one else challenges the front-runner.
"I am on the opposite wing of secretary general Aso. I have to ensure that there is a chance to speak on that stand," Ishihara told reporters.
Ishihara served as the minister in charge of administrative reforms under popular premier Junichiro Koizumi, who spearheaded free-market policies here.
Ishihara's father, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara, enjoys wide popularity for his strong-armed leadership but is despised by liberals for his blunt nationalist remarks including calls to end Japan's post-World War II pacifism.
Yuriko Koike, a former television anchorwoman, has also emerged as a possible contender and is backed by reformists close to Koizumi.
While stopping short of announcing her candidacy, she indicated support for her was gaining momentum.
Koike, who has served as defence minister and environment minister, would be Japan's first female prime minister.
The LDP has been in power for all but 10 months since it was created in 1955. But it lost control of one house last year to the opposition, which has tried to block the LDP agenda in hopes of winning the next elections.
Opinion polls published Thursday showed that voters favoured Aso, who has tried to endear himself to the public with a quirky sense of humour and passion for comic books.
A telephone survey by the liberal Asahi Shimbun on Tuesday and Wednesday found 30 percent of the 1,069 people who gave valid answers wanted Aso to be the next leader.
The rating was nearly four times higher than that of runner-up Ozawa, the opposition leader, with eight percent. Koike got three percent, with Ishihara one percent and Yosano unsighted.
AFP
